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>Patricia, this sounds silly, but I gave all my test equipment back to the client last year and i DON'T KNOW the answer to your questions. The user chose one with a large handle and an angled scanner window over 2 pen-type scanners. He said that the pens cramped his hand (as they did mine). Another scanner had a much smaller usable distance range from the BC. If it was too far or too close it didn't work. The end product also had a good loud beep. Useful in the warehouse. He was 6 feet +, wearing gloves and jacket because the warehouse was open to the outside. He opted for the fattest, most versatile model (least fussy). An indoor user might prefer one of the pens.

Thnx Barbara: I love your answer :). No it does not seem silly at all to me as I have also done the same thing too many times in the past when it seemed there was never going to be a need to retain the info - and of course I then have immediately found I should have remembered or saved it; then, on the other hand I do not have enough disk space or filing cabinet space for all the "stuff" that I do keep "... just in case I'll need it again!!!" By the way, if you are a fan of "Dilbert" you may recognize the "technical specificity" of your response as attributable to the pointy haired boss. <g> I love that too; makes me feel right at home.....
I have never particularly liked the pen kind having found them more demanding of scanning angle and speed to get reliable results and they can also wear out labels from contact abrasion if items have to be frequently rescanned for any reason so although they are very sturdy and durable whereas the laser point-and-shoot hand type are quite vulnerable the laser type seem to be more easily used and better functionally. The Intermec product has yielded some good results for me in past projects.
And so the quest for a really good solution to the bar coding enigma continues. Oh well, nothing ventured, nothing gained! Best. /psb.