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DocScanner successfully transitions from iOS to Mac app

by Michael Grothaus Jan 5th 2011 at 7:00PM


Today I spent a half hour playing around with the first iOS app to Mac OS X app port I've gotten my hands on, and if DocScanner is any indication of the quality and usability of other iOS apps transitioning to the Mac, the Mac App Store is gonna rock indeed.

DocScanner iPhone is an existing app that turns your iPhone into an OCR scanner. You simply snap a photograph of a document, and the app uses built-in OCR (Optical Character Recognition) technology to extract the text from the document. The app then lets you save the text as a PDF for emailing or sharing with Evernote.

DocScanner Mac is the OS X version of the iPhone app that works just as well and offers added functionality because it allows you to turn any camera into an OCR scanner. Simply snap a picture, import it to your Mac then drag it to DocScanner Mac's interface. You'll then be presented with a PDF version of the text that you can copy and paste into any editable document. The logic for bringing DocScanner from the iPhone to the Mac doesn't end with simply allowing you to use any camera as an OCR scanner. Porting the iOS app to Mac OS X allows DocScanner to take advantage of the OpenGL 3D accelerated graphics on your Mac. The results are much faster image processing and OCR extraction than you could ever hope to get on your iPhone.

Out of the hundreds of thousands of apps for iOS, a large majority of them would probably not offer added user value if they were ported over to Mac OS X (like currency apps or apps that are fronts for websites such as Mint or Yelp). But an app like DocScanner is an excellent example of the usefulness that select iOS-to-Mac ports will provide.

DocScanner iPhone is on sale now on the App Store for US$0.99. DocScanner Mac makes its debut tomorrow exclusively in the Mac App Store for $14.99.



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Today I spent a half hour playing around with the first iOS app to Mac OS X app port I've gotten my hands on, and if DocScanner is any...
 

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Stuart

DocScanner for Mac is not in the App Store, and the web site now says it'll be released in January, without the previous date of 6th January. :-(

January 06 2011 at 5:38 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
(01)

When hitting "Print as a PDF" takes too much work.

January 06 2011 at 1:22 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to (01)'s comment
kaden

Really? So a Mac can automagically figure out what paper document you're thinking of and scan it to PDF for you? WOW! I really DO need a Mac!

February 13 2011 at 1:01 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
brett_x

Remember when $15 was "only $15" for an application that does what you want it to do? OCR for $15 is a great deal if you ask me.

To paraphrase corypep "I hope this [wining] isn't a harbinger of things to come about the mac store"

January 05 2011 at 9:14 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
3 replies to brett_x's comment
Bones3D

This really make you think... Is the Mac OS on its way out, to be replaced by some version of iOS in the near future?

I have a strong feeliing that once cloud computing becomes commonplace, there will be no further need for things like the finder or even file manageement. We'll simply either download our apps from the app store to use locally, or run them from a master copy stored on a cloud server and pay a small rental fee for use with extra for better performance. The apps themselves will be responsible for their own files giving the user the option to store a file locally or on a cloud server.

Ultimately, I think Apple wants to make every piece of hardware they produce as easy to use as an iPod. By switching everything over to the iOS, they could do just that. And, by moving into cloud computing, the concept of syncing our devices becoomes seamless, as all of our devices would simply need to use the same cloud for instant access to all their content.

Mac OS 10.7 is likely going to be the middle ground for making the iOS transition happen.

January 05 2011 at 7:36 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
2 replies to Bones3D's comment
Bones3D

Surprise, surprise... Apple is messing with clouds after all:

- http://tech.slashdot.org/story/11/01/05/1536248/Apple-Creating-Cloud-Based-Mac

January 05 2011 at 8:49 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
tdowling

I doubt it. There should always be a strong market for something more robust than iOS. If anything, I think we'll just see the continued development of two parallel but cooperative platforms.

January 05 2011 at 10:34 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Corypep

So same program, same function, larger version and I have to go find a camera. Only change is a $14.00 price hike?

I'll pass. I'll also hope this isn't a harbinger of things to come from the Mac Store.

January 05 2011 at 7:14 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Olek

Because the screen on the mac is 15x bigger the apps should cost 15x more?

January 05 2011 at 7:11 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
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