Abstract: A handheld device scans a line of information in the form of Internet URL's, Internet protocol addresses, Internet e-mail addresses, FTP sites, USENET news group addresses, DNS addresses and bar codes as they occur in print advertising and printed media. The scanned information is decoded and displayed for user verification. The device utilizes onboard information retrieval software that establishes a connection to the Internet to retrieve HTML, XML, WML, and VRML documents, e-mail messages, USENET news, Java applets, ActiveX documents, Active Server Pages, or file transfers from the Internet locations interpreted by the handheld scanner.

Abstract: A handheld device scans single line textual information in the form of internet URL'S, internet protocol addresses, internet e-mail addresses, FTP sites, USENET news group addresses and DNS addresses as they occur in print advertising and printed media. Scanned textual data is processed with OCR technology and displayed for user verification. The device utilizes onboard memory to store information until such time it can be transmitted via wireless communications to a companion software communications agent executing on a personal computer, network computer, PIN computing device or electronic newspaper. The software communications agent utilizes a connection to the internet to retrieve HTML/VRML documents, e-mail messages, USENET news, Java applets, ActiveX documents, or file transfers from the internet location interpreted by the handheld scanner/OCR device.