Scanner OCR app Free today, but I would buy it anyways!

This App no longer seems to be available in the Canadian nor American App stores.

It has been very difficult to find an OCR scanner that actually works for free.  OCR means Optical Character Recognition which basically converts an image of text into editable text. This one is normally only $.99 but free for now and it works as good as can be expected.

Scanner OCR

Scanner OCR is an iPhone app, but it works on iPad as well.  You can scan documents and crop the image so that only text appears in the image.  The conversion worked well when I converted the text document into black and white from within the app otherwise there were a few inaccuracies.

In addition this app works without the use of internet.  Some apps send the document to a central server for conversion and then sends it back, but this one converts the document to text within the app with no data transfer.

You can send the text by email to yourself or save it to the library or open it in another app.  You can even email it as a PDF. Although that kind of defeats the purpose of the OCR, it is a useful function when you upload a word document that you can then convert to PDF and email it out.  Normally you need to pay to have the functionality as well using a different app.

If you are reading this and the price has gone back to $.99 and you need an OCR software I suggest you buy it anyways.  There is no point in paying more since I doubt a more expensive one will do a better job. 

Get it free while you can!

The Best Ringtone App I have seen so far does it all!

I have gone through several Ring Tone Maker apps so far.  Some of them free and others that cost a dollar or two, but got them free on a daily promotion.  However, I have now come across the best one yet and it is free.

This Ring Tone app has the best of all worlds.

Ringtones

1: You can download from thousands of pre-made ring tones for free (many free apps make you pay for downloads).

2: You can create your own ringtones and message alert tones from a song you have in your iTunes library by cutting specific parts of the song you like.

3: You can record your voice or the surroundings using the built in microphone for up to three minutes and take a portion of that to create a ringtone.

4: When you are done with your creation you can send it out by email so that it can be saved to your hard drive and installed if you find that easier than uploading when your iPhone/iPad is plugged it.

There are instructions included within the app about how to upload the ringtone into your iTunes account and how to set the tone in your iPhone itself.

This app is made for the iPhone, but it can be used with the iPad.  Give it a try it is free after all.  Do you think the one you currently use is better?  Challenge me in the comments section below.  Perhaps we will discover an even better one together.

https://itunes.apple.com/app/id599559607

Do the "Wave" for your iPhone!

UPDATE:  When this blog was written WaveCam was free.  The price is currently .99 cents.

How many of us have tried to take a self-portrait by holding your iPhone straight out in front of you.  Do you get a picture of your arm in the picture or your shoulder looking in a funny position?  What about shots with your friend from further away.  Ask a stranger to take the picture for you if one is around?  Some cameras now have timers for the iPhone, but you need to get ready and pose before it goes off.  What if you could trigger the shot with a “wink” or a “wave”?  Well now you can.

Wave Cam and Wink Cam are two simple apps that use a form of motion detection to initiate a photo shot rather than a timer or by pressing a button.  These two apps need to use the front camera which is usually lower quality, but it is still great for taking self-portraits or pictures with your friends when there is no one around to take the photo for you.  Best of all they are both free, but do they really work?  In a nutshell Wave Cam seems to be the better of the two.

Wave Cam

Wave Cam takes a picture using a form of motion detection which recognizes when your hands (or head) passes through a certain location on the screen indicated by a hand as illustrated in the photo.  Simple is best and this simple set up works quite reliably.  Your hand passes through the designated place and a 3 second timer starts before the shot is taken giving you time to put on your best “Magnum” pose.  You can even move the hand to a location you want on the screen to avoid triggering it by mistake.  So what about Wink Cam?

Prepare the Shot and Place the Camera

Get into the picture yourself

3,2,1 Magnum

Wave to the camera

Wink Cam

Wink Cam is a great concept.  You have your face in the shot, “wink”, and then a 3 second timer starts so you can do your best “Blue Steel” pose before the photo is taken.  (Yes I like the movie Zoolander). It does work well when you are close up.  Meaning that your face is big enough on the screen for the app to recognize that you winked.  Good for head shots.  But when you are farther away from the camera it has a hard time detecting the “wink” as I experienced.  Maybe my eyes are small and my glasses interfere?

Place the Camera and get ready

Now do a BIG Wink

The thing is that Wave Cam works when you are near or far so why bother with two apps?  I have to say that I like the novelty of Wink Cam and the technology is fun, but with a limited use it just does not stack up to Wave Cam in my opinion.

Try them both and tell me what you think of them!