Patent ID: 8146817

Claim:
An apparatus for decoding information from a decodable symbol, the apparatus comprising: an imaging assembly having a 2D image sensor and optics focusing an image onto said 2D image sensor; a housing adapted to be grasped by a human hand; wherein said apparatus is configured to operate in a first operating mode in which said apparatus operates the 2D image sensor to capture a partial frame of image data representing at least a portion of the decodable symbol and corresponding to a first set of pixels of said 2D image sensor, wherein said apparatus when operating in said first operating mode avoids obtaining electrical signals representing light intensity at each pixel of said image sensor; wherein said apparatus is configured for processing of the partial frame of image data corresponding to said first set of pixels for attempting to decode said decodable symbol; and wherein said apparatus is further configured to operate in a second operating mode in which said apparatus operates the 2D image sensor to capture a frame of image data representing at least a portion of the decodable symbol and corresponding to a second set of pixels of said 2D image sensor, the second set of pixels being different from said first set; and wherein said apparatus is capable of switching out of said first operating mode and into said second operating mode responsively to a processing of said partial frame of image data corresponding to said first set of pixels for attempting to decode said decodable symbol.