How many times have you wished that there was a good OCR solution for your IOS device? Well, the latest OCR app to hit the Apple IOS AppStore just may be what you have been waiting for.
Vashaun, I think that any scanning app that requires us to tap the "start
scanning" button while simultaneously attempting to hold the camera steady
and straight is not considering the needs of those of us who are totally
blind. It may work if you have enough vision to help you align, but it sure
isn't working for me! I am sorry I bought it. What scanning success I have
had has been with either Prizmo, where one can use one's voice to activate
the camera shutter, or SayText, where I can tap the button prior to raising
the camera.
Sandy
From: viphone@googlegroups.com [mailto:viphone@googlegroups.com] On Behalf
Of VaShaun Jones
Sent: Saturday, July 21, 2012 10:51 AM
To: viphone@googlegroups.com
Subject: The Sherlock Holmes Of OCR Apps
How many times have you wished that there was a good OCR solution for your
IOS device? Well, the latest OCR app to hit the Apple IOS AppStore just may
be what you have been waiting for.
-- You received this message because you are subscribed to the "VIPhone" Google
Group.
To search the VIPhone public archive, visit
http://www.mail-archive.com/viphone@googlegroups.com/.
To post to this group, send email to viphone@googlegroups.com.
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to
viphone+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
For more options, visit this group at
http://groups.google.com/group/viphone?hl=en.
I think this scanning apps discussion is very interesting.
I am one of those who could not get prismo or Saytext to work at all, but
can with Text Detective.
I suppose that really it all comes down to, (just like with anything else,)
what works for one isn't always going to work for another.
Meanwhile, am I the only one who wishes that if they bought an app and
didn't like it or it didn't work for them, but maybe it would work for
someone else, that they could gift their coppy to them? At least then your
money isn't going to waste. *smile*
Amy Billman
Check out my company for your screen protector and phone accessory needs!
SpeedDots: the makers of the tactile screen protector
http://www.SpeedDots.com Follow us on Twitter:
http://www.twitter.com/SpeedDots Like us on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/SpeedDots
From: viphone@googlegroups.com [mailto:viphone@googlegroups.com] On Behalf
Of Sandy Finley
Sent: Saturday, July 21, 2012 9:53 AM
To: viphone@googlegroups.com
Subject: RE: The Sherlock Holmes Of OCR Apps
Vashaun, I think that any scanning app that requires us to tap the "start
scanning" button while simultaneously attempting to hold the camera steady
and straight is not considering the needs of those of us who are totally
blind. It may work if you have enough vision to help you align, but it sure
isn't working for me! I am sorry I bought it. What scanning success I have
had has been with either Prizmo, where one can use one's voice to activate
the camera shutter, or SayText, where I can tap the button prior to raising
the camera.
Sandy
From: viphone@googlegroups.com [mailto:viphone@googlegroups.com] On Behalf
Of VaShaun Jones
Sent: Saturday, July 21, 2012 10:51 AM
To: viphone@googlegroups.com
Subject: The Sherlock Holmes Of OCR Apps
How many times have you wished that there was a good OCR solution for your
IOS device? Well, the latest OCR app to hit the Apple IOS AppStore just may
be what you have been waiting for.
<http://www.fedoraoutlier.com/the-sherlock-holmes-of-ocr-apps-2/#more-615>
The Sherlock Holmes Of OCR Apps- Full Article
-- You received this message because you are subscribed to the "VIPhone" Google
Group.
To search the VIPhone public archive, visit
http://www.mail-archive.com/viphone@googlegroups.com/.
To post to this group, send email to viphone@googlegroups.com.
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to
viphone+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
For more options, visit this group at
http://groups.google.com/group/viphone?hl=en.
-- You received this message because you are subscribed to the "VIPhone" Google
Group.
To search the VIPhone public archive, visit
http://www.mail-archive.com/viphone@googlegroups.com/.
To post to this group, send email to viphone@googlegroups.com.
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to
viphone+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
For more options, visit this group at
http://groups.google.com/group/viphone?hl=en.
__________ Information from ESET Smart Security, version of virus signature
database 7317 (20120721) __________
Sandy, I am the one that wrote this blog post, and I completely agree with you about the tapping to start the scan issue. I think that is important to remember that this is the first version of this app, and it might be a good idea if those of us who have bought this app contact the developer with our comments so that they will know what some of our issues with the app is. I for one have had very good results with Text Detective and have no trouble recommending it to others. I really do appreciate your comments and if you didn't leave a comment on our blog would you please do so? This is how we will be able to keep track of how many people we are getting to read our blog posts.
If you have any suggestions as to an app or something with the iPhone that I can write please let me know and I will see if I can put a future post. together.
> Vashaun, I think that any scanning app that requires us to tap the “start scanning” button while simultaneously attempting to hold the camera steady and straight is not considering the needs of those of us who are totally blind. It may work if you have enough vision to help you align, but it sure isn’t working for me! I am sorry I bought it. What scanning success I have had has been with either Prizmo, where one can use one’s voice to activate the camera shutter, or SayText, where I can tap the button prior to raising the camera.
> Sandy
> From: viphone@googlegroups.com [mailto:viphone@googlegroups.com] On Behalf OfVaShaun Jones
> Sent: Saturday, July 21, 2012 10:51 AM
> To: viphone@googlegroups.com
> Subject: The Sherlock Holmes Of OCR Apps
> How many times have you wished that there was a good OCR solution for your IOS device? Well, the latest OCR app to hit the Apple IOS AppStore just may be what you have been waiting for.
> The Sherlock Holmes Of OCR Apps- Full Article
> -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the "VIPhone" Google Group.
> To search the VIPhone public archive, visit http://www.mail-archive.com/viphone@googlegroups.com/.
> To post to this group, send email to viphone@googlegroups.com.
> To unsubscribe from this group, send email toviphone+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
> For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/viphone?hl=en.
> -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the "VIPhone" Google Group.
> To search the VIPhone public archive, visit http://www.mail-archive.com/viphone@googlegroups.com/.
> To post to this group, send email to viphone@googlegroups.com.
> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to viphone+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
> For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/viphone?hl=en.
This is why I wish that more developers would have a demo version of their apps available from their website. Of course then we would all have to go to their websites, but I that this would be what all of the developers would want.
> I think this scanning apps discussion is very interesting.
> I am one of those who could not get prismo or Saytext to work at all, but can with Text Detective.
> I suppose that really it all comes down to, (just like with anything else,) what works for one isn’t always going to work for another.
> Meanwhile, am I the only one who wishes that if they bought an app and didn’t like it or it didn’t work for them, but maybe it would work for someone else, that they could gift their coppy to them? At least then your money isn’t going to waste. *smile*
> Amy Billman
> Check out my company for your screen protector and phone accessory needs!
> SpeedDots: the makers of the tactile screen protector
> http://www.SpeedDots.com > Follow us on Twitter:
> http://www.twitter.com/SpeedDots > Like us on Facebook:
> http://www.facebook.com/SpeedDots
> From: viphone@googlegroups.com [mailto:viphone@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Sandy Finley
> Sent: Saturday, July 21, 2012 9:53 AM
> To: viphone@googlegroups.com
> Subject: RE: The Sherlock Holmes Of OCR Apps
> Vashaun, I think that any scanning app that requires us to tap the “start scanning” button while simultaneously attempting to hold the camera steady and straight is not considering the needs of those of us who are totally blind. It may work if you have enough vision to help you align, but it sure isn’t working for me! I am sorry I bought it. What scanning success I have had has been with either Prizmo, where one can use one’s voice to activate the camera shutter, or SayText, where I can tap the button prior to raising the camera.
> Sandy
> From: viphone@googlegroups.com [mailto:viphone@googlegroups.com] On Behalf OfVaShaun Jones
> Sent: Saturday, July 21, 2012 10:51 AM
> To: viphone@googlegroups.com
> Subject: The Sherlock Holmes Of OCR Apps
> How many times have you wished that there was a good OCR solution for your IOS device? Well, the latest OCR app to hit the Apple IOS AppStore just may be what you have been waiting for.
> The Sherlock Holmes Of OCR Apps- Full Article
> -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the "VIPhone" Google Group.
> To search the VIPhone public archive, visit http://www.mail-archive.com/viphone@googlegroups.com/.
> To post to this group, send email to viphone@googlegroups.com.
> To unsubscribe from this group, send email toviphone+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
> For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/viphone?hl=en.
> -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the "VIPhone" Google Group.
> To search the VIPhone public archive, visit http://www.mail-archive.com/viphone@googlegroups.com/.
> To post to this group, send email to viphone@googlegroups.com.
> To unsubscribe from this group, send email toviphone+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
> For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/viphone?hl=en.
> __________ Information from ESET Smart Security, version of virus signature database 7317 (20120721) __________
> -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the "VIPhone" Google Group.
> To search the VIPhone public archive, visit http://www.mail-archive.com/viphone@googlegroups.com/.
> To post to this group, send email to viphone@googlegroups.com.
> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to viphone+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
> For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/viphone?hl=en.
Scott, thank you for responding. I will not delete the app in hopes of
future adjustments. It seems as if no scanning app on a mobile phone works
as well as larger scanners guess that's to be expected. I will go write
something on your blog later. Have a good day!
From: viphone@googlegroups.com [mailto:viphone@googlegroups.com] On Behalf
Of Scott Rumery
Sent: Saturday, July 21, 2012 1:37 PM
To: viphone@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: The Sherlock Holmes Of OCR Apps
Sandy, I am the one that wrote this blog post, and I completely agree with
you about the tapping to start the scan issue. I think that is important to
remember that this is the first version of this app, and it might be a good
idea if those of us who have bought this app contact the developer with our
comments so that they will know what some of our issues with the app is. I
for one have had very good results with Text Detective and have no trouble
recommending it to others. I really do appreciate your comments and if you
didn't leave a comment on our blog would you please do so? This is how we
will be able to keep track of how many people we are getting to read our
blog posts.
If you have any suggestions as to an app or something with the iPhone that I
can write please let me know and I will see if I can put a future post.
together.
Vashaun, I think that any scanning app that requires us to tap the "start
scanning" button while simultaneously attempting to hold the camera steady
and straight is not considering the needs of those of us who are totally
blind. It may work if you have enough vision to help you align, but it sure
isn't working for me! I am sorry I bought it. What scanning success I have
had has been with either Prizmo, where one can use one's voice to activate
the camera shutter, or SayText, where I can tap the button prior to raising
the camera.
Sandy
From: viphone@googlegroups.com [mailto:viphone@googlegroups.com] On Behalf
OfVaShaun Jones
Sent: Saturday, July 21, 2012 10:51 AM
To: viphone@googlegroups.com
Subject: The Sherlock Holmes Of OCR Apps
How many times have you wished that there was a good OCR solution for your
IOS device? Well, the latest OCR app to hit the Apple IOS AppStore just may
be what you have been waiting for.
-- You received this message because you are subscribed to the "VIPhone" Google
Group.
To search the VIPhone public archive, visit
http://www.mail-archive.com/viphone@googlegroups.com/.
To post to this group, send email to viphone@googlegroups.com.
To unsubscribe from this group, send email
toviphone+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
For more options, visit this group at
http://groups.google.com/group/viphone?hl=en.
-- You received this message because you are subscribed to the "VIPhone" Google
Group.
To search the VIPhone public archive, visit
http://www.mail-archive.com/viphone@googlegroups.com/.
To post to this group, send email to viphone@googlegroups.com.
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to
viphone+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
For more options, visit this group at
http://groups.google.com/group/viphone?hl=en.
-- You received this message because you are subscribed to the "VIPhone" Google
Group.
To search the VIPhone public archive, visit
http://www.mail-archive.com/viphone@googlegroups.com/.
To post to this group, send email to viphone@googlegroups.com.
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to
viphone+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
For more options, visit this group at
http://groups.google.com/group/viphone?hl=en.
I'm another one of those who has tried all those other OCR apps with no
success. With only a few attempts with TextDetective Blind Treasures I was
able to get very good results. It all comes down to holding the phone at the
right height and lighting. For a first release, this is a wonderful app and
I hope they keep improving it. Blind Treasures Sales: sa...@blindtreasures.com
Skype: kingmeade
Web Page: <http://www.blindtreasures.com> http://www.blindtreasures.com
From: viphone@googlegroups.com [mailto:viphone@googlegroups.com] On Behalf
Of Amy Billman
Sent: Saturday, July 21, 2012 1:05 PM
To: viphone@googlegroups.com
Subject: RE: The Sherlock Holmes Of OCR Apps
I think this scanning apps discussion is very interesting.
I am one of those who could not get prismo or Saytext to work at all, but
can with Text Detective.
I suppose that really it all comes down to, (just like with anything else,)
what works for one isn't always going to work for another.
Meanwhile, am I the only one who wishes that if they bought an app and
didn't like it or it didn't work for them, but maybe it would work for
someone else, that they could gift their coppy to them? At least then your
money isn't going to waste. *smile*
Amy Billman
Check out my company for your screen protector and phone accessory needs!
SpeedDots: the makers of the tactile screen protector
http://www.SpeedDots.com Follow us on Twitter:
http://www.twitter.com/SpeedDots Like us on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/SpeedDots
From: viphone@googlegroups.com [mailto:viphone@googlegroups.com] On Behalf
Of Sandy Finley
Sent: Saturday, July 21, 2012 9:53 AM
To: viphone@googlegroups.com
Subject: RE: The Sherlock Holmes Of OCR Apps
Vashaun, I think that any scanning app that requires us to tap the "start
scanning" button while simultaneously attempting to hold the camera steady
and straight is not considering the needs of those of us who are totally
blind. It may work if you have enough vision to help you align, but it sure
isn't working for me! I am sorry I bought it. What scanning success I have
had has been with either Prizmo, where one can use one's voice to activate
the camera shutter, or SayText, where I can tap the button prior to raising
the camera.
Sandy
From: viphone@googlegroups.com [mailto:viphone@googlegroups.com] On Behalf
Of VaShaun Jones
Sent: Saturday, July 21, 2012 10:51 AM
To: viphone@googlegroups.com
Subject: The Sherlock Holmes Of OCR Apps
How many times have you wished that there was a good OCR solution for your
IOS device? Well, the latest OCR app to hit the Apple IOS AppStore just may
be what you have been waiting for.
<http://www.fedoraoutlier.com/the-sherlock-holmes-of-ocr-apps-2/#more-615>
The Sherlock Holmes Of OCR Apps- Full Article
-- You received this message because you are subscribed to the "VIPhone" Google
Group.
To search the VIPhone public archive, visit
http://www.mail-archive.com/viphone@googlegroups.com/.
To post to this group, send email to viphone@googlegroups.com.
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to
viphone+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
For more options, visit this group at
http://groups.google.com/group/viphone?hl=en.
-- You received this message because you are subscribed to the "VIPhone" Google
Group.
To search the VIPhone public archive, visit
http://www.mail-archive.com/viphone@googlegroups.com/.
To post to this group, send email to viphone@googlegroups.com.
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to
viphone+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
For more options, visit this group at
http://groups.google.com/group/viphone?hl=en.
__________ Information from ESET Smart Security, version of virus signature
database 7317 (20120721) __________
-- You received this message because you are subscribed to the "VIPhone" Google
Group.
To search the VIPhone public archive, visit
http://www.mail-archive.com/viphone@googlegroups.com/.
To post to this group, send email to viphone@googlegroups.com.
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to
viphone+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
For more options, visit this group at
http://groups.google.com/group/viphone?hl=en.
I have had no success with this app. I followed the tips, and I am in normal office lighting. I have tried to scan, an email, a electric bill, a letter, and a page from a book. I have tried different positions, scan lengths ETC. I will only get one or two words, and those are usually wrong.
out of curiosity I tried using Text grabber on the same material. It worked about 90% of the time. Any ideas? Chuck
On Saturday, July 21, 2012 7:50:53 AM UTC-7, VaShaun Jones wrote:
> How many times have you wished that there was a good OCR solution for your > IOS device? Well, the latest OCR app to hit the Apple IOS AppStore just may > be what you have been waiting for.
I think it would make sense to recommend that the developer consider allowing you to leave the phone flat on the paper and once the button is tapped, have you lift until the page is in view for the camera. In other words combine the functionality of SayText and Text Detective. Seems a marriage of both apps would produce a pretty interesting result.
On Jul 21, 2012, at 2:12 PM, blind Treasures <blindtreasu...@comcast.net> wrote:
> I'm another one of those who has tried all those other OCR apps with no success. With only a few attempts with TextDetective Blind Treasures I was able to get very good results. It all comes down to holding the phone at the right height and lighting. For a first release, this is a wonderful app and I hope they keep improving it.
> Blind Treasures
> Sales: sa...@blindtreasures.com
> Skype: kingmeade
> Web Page: http://www.blindtreasures.com > From: viphone@googlegroups.com [mailto:viphone@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Amy Billman
> Sent: Saturday, July 21, 2012 1:05 PM
> To: viphone@googlegroups.com
> Subject: RE: The Sherlock Holmes Of OCR Apps
> I think this scanning apps discussion is very interesting.
> I am one of those who could not get prismo or Saytext to work at all, but can with Text Detective.
> I suppose that really it all comes down to, (just like with anything else,) what works for one isn’t always going to work for another.
> Meanwhile, am I the only one who wishes that if they bought an app and didn’t like it or it didn’t work for them, but maybe it would work for someone else, that they could gift their coppy to them? At least then your money isn’t going to waste. *smile*
> Amy Billman
> Check out my company for your screen protector and phone accessory needs!
> SpeedDots: the makers of the tactile screen protector
> http://www.SpeedDots.com > Follow us on Twitter:
> http://www.twitter.com/SpeedDots > Like us on Facebook:
> http://www.facebook.com/SpeedDots
> From: viphone@googlegroups.com [mailto:viphone@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Sandy Finley
> Sent: Saturday, July 21, 2012 9:53 AM
> To: viphone@googlegroups.com
> Subject: RE: The Sherlock Holmes Of OCR Apps
> Vashaun, I think that any scanning app that requires us to tap the “start scanning” button while simultaneously attempting to hold the camera steady and straight is not considering the needs of those of us who are totally blind. It may work if you have enough vision to help you align, but it sure isn’t working for me! I am sorry I bought it. What scanning success I have had has been with either Prizmo, where one can use one’s voice to activate the camera shutter, orSayText, where I can tap the button prior to raising the camera.
> Sandy
> From: viphone@googlegroups.com [mailto:viphone@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of VaShaun Jones
> Sent: Saturday, July 21, 2012 10:51 AM
> To: viphone@googlegroups.com
> Subject: The Sherlock Holmes Of OCR Apps
> How many times have you wished that there was a good OCR solution for your IOS device? Well, the latest OCR app to hit the Apple IOS AppStore just may be what you have been waiting for.
> The Sherlock Holmes Of OCR Apps- Full Article
> -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the "VIPhone" Google Group.
> To search the VIPhone public archive, visit http://www.mail-archive.com/viphone@googlegroups.com/.
> To post to this group, send email to viphone@googlegroups.com.
> To unsubscribe from this group, send email toviphone+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
> For more options, visit this group athttp://groups.google.com/group/viphone?hl=en.
> -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the "VIPhone" Google Group.
> To search the VIPhone public archive, visit http://www.mail-archive.com/viphone@googlegroups.com/.
> To post to this group, send email to viphone@googlegroups.com.
> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to viphone+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
> For more options, visit this group athttp://groups.google.com/group/viphone?hl=en.
> __________ Information from ESET Smart Security, version of virus signature database 7317 (20120721) __________
> -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the "VIPhone" Google Group.
> To search the VIPhone public archive, visit http://www.mail-archive.com/viphone@googlegroups.com/.
> To post to this group, send email to viphone@googlegroups.com.
> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to viphone+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
> For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/viphone?hl=en.
> -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the "VIPhone" Google Group.
> To search the VIPhone public archive, visit http://www.mail-archive.com/viphone@googlegroups.com/.
> To post to this group, send email to viphone@googlegroups.com.
> To unsubscribe from this group, send email toviphone+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
> For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/viphone?hl=en.
How far from what your are trying to scan do you hold your phone? I would recommend that you experiment with this and each time that you get a scan with a lot of gibberish just move the phone a little closer to your document. Remember that good lighting is crucial to a successful scan.
> I have had no success with this app.
> I followed the tips, and I am in normal office lighting. I have tried to scan, an email, a electric bill, a letter, and a page from a book. I have tried different positions, scan lengths ETC.
> I will only get one or two words, and those are usually wrong.
> out of curiosity I tried using Text grabber on the same material.
> It worked about 90% of the time.
> Any ideas?
> Chuck
> On Saturday, July 21, 2012 7:50:53 AM UTC-7, VaShaun Jones wrote:
> How many times have you wished that there was a good OCR solution for your IOS device? Well, the latest OCR app to hit the Apple IOS AppStore just may be what you have been waiting for.
> The Sherlock Holmes Of OCR Apps- Full Article
> -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the "VIPhone" Google Group.
> To search the VIPhone public archive, visit http://www.mail-archive.com/viphone@googlegroups.com/.
> To post to this group, send email to viphone@googlegroups.com.
> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to viphone+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
> For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/viphone?hl=en.
> How far from what your are trying to scan do you hold your phone? I would recommend that you experiment with this and each time that you get a scan with a lot of gibberish just move the phone a little closer to your document. Remember that good lighting is crucial to a successful scan.
>> I have had no success with this app.
>> I followed the tips, and I am in normal office lighting. I have tried to scan, an email, a electric bill, a letter, and a page from a book. I have tried different positions, scan lengths ETC.
>> I will only get one or two words, and those are usually wrong.
>> out of curiosity I tried using Text grabber on the same material.
>> It worked about 90% of the time.
>> Any ideas?
>> Chuck
>> On Saturday, July 21, 2012 7:50:53 AM UTC-7, VaShaun Jones wrote:
>> How many times have you wished that there was a good OCR solution for your IOS device? Well, the latest OCR app to hit the Apple IOS AppStore just may be what you have been waiting for.
>> The Sherlock Holmes Of OCR Apps- Full Article
>> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the "VIPhone" Google Group.
>> To search the VIPhone public archive, visit http://www.mail-archive.com/viphone@googlegroups.com/.
>> To post to this group, send email to viphone@googlegroups.com.
>> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to viphone+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
>> For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/viphone?hl=en.
> -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the "VIPhone" Google Group.
> To search the VIPhone public archive, visit http://www.mail-archive.com/viphone@googlegroups.com/.
> To post to this group, send email to viphone@googlegroups.com.
> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to viphone+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
> For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/viphone?hl=en.
> I think it would make sense to recommend that the developer consider allowing you to leave the phone flat on the paper and once the button is tapped, have you lift until the page is in view for the camera. In other words combine the functionality of SayText and Text Detective. Seems a marriage of both apps would produce a pretty interesting result.
> On Jul 21, 2012, at 2:12 PM, blind Treasures <blindtreasu...@comcast.net> wrote:
>> I'm another one of those who has tried all those other OCR apps with no success. With only a few attempts with TextDetective Blind Treasures I was able to get very good results. It all comes down to holding the phone at the right height and lighting. For a first release, this is a wonderful app and I hope they keep improving it.
>> Blind Treasures
>> Sales: sa...@blindtreasures.com
>> Skype: kingmeade
>> Web Page: http://www.blindtreasures.com >> From: viphone@googlegroups.com [mailto:viphone@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Amy Billman
>> Sent: Saturday, July 21, 2012 1:05 PM
>> To: viphone@googlegroups.com
>> Subject: RE: The Sherlock Holmes Of OCR Apps
>> I think this scanning apps discussion is very interesting.
>> I am one of those who could not get prismo or Saytext to work at all, but can with Text Detective.
>> I suppose that really it all comes down to, (just like with anything else,) what works for one isn’t always going to work for another.
>> Meanwhile, am I the only one who wishes that if they bought an app and didn’t like it or it didn’t work for them, but maybe it would work for someone else, that they could gift their coppy to them? At least then your money isn’t going to waste. *smile*
>> Amy Billman
>> Check out my company for your screen protector and phone accessory needs!
>> SpeedDots: the makers of the tactile screen protector
>> http://www.SpeedDots.com >> Follow us on Twitter:
>> http://www.twitter.com/SpeedDots >> Like us on Facebook:
>> http://www.facebook.com/SpeedDots
>> From: viphone@googlegroups.com [mailto:viphone@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Sandy Finley
>> Sent: Saturday, July 21, 2012 9:53 AM
>> To: viphone@googlegroups.com
>> Subject: RE: The Sherlock Holmes Of OCR Apps
>> Vashaun, I think that any scanning app that requires us to tap the “start scanning” button while simultaneously attempting to hold the camera steady and straight is not considering the needs of those of us who are totally blind. It may work if you have enough vision to help you align, but it sure isn’t working for me! I am sorry I bought it. What scanning success I have had has been with either Prizmo, where one can use one’s voice to activate the camera shutter, orSayText, where I can tap the button prior to raising the camera.
>> Sandy
>> From: viphone@googlegroups.com [mailto:viphone@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of VaShaun Jones
>> Sent: Saturday, July 21, 2012 10:51 AM
>> To: viphone@googlegroups.com
>> Subject: The Sherlock Holmes Of OCR Apps
>> How many times have you wished that there was a good OCR solution for your IOS device? Well, the latest OCR app to hit the Apple IOS AppStore just may be what you have been waiting for.
>> The Sherlock Holmes Of OCR Apps- Full Article
>> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the "VIPhone" Google Group.
>> To search the VIPhone public archive, visit http://www.mail-archive.com/viphone@googlegroups.com/.
>> To post to this group, send email to viphone@googlegroups.com.
>> To unsubscribe from this group, send email toviphone+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
>> For more options, visit this group athttp://groups.google.com/group/viphone?hl=en.
>> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the "VIPhone" Google Group.
>> To search the VIPhone public archive, visit http://www.mail-archive.com/viphone@googlegroups.com/.
>> To post to this group, send email to viphone@googlegroups.com.
>> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to viphone+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
>> For more options, visit this group athttp://groups.google.com/group/viphone?hl=en.
>> __________ Information from ESET Smart Security, version of virus signature database 7317 (20120721) __________
>> The message was checked by ESET Smart Security.
>> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the "VIPhone" Google Group.
>> To search the VIPhone public archive, visit http://www.mail-archive.com/viphone@googlegroups.com/.
>> To post to this group, send email to viphone@googlegroups.com.
>> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to viphone+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
>> For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/viphone?hl=en.
>> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the "VIPhone" Google Group.
>> To search the VIPhone public archive, visit http://www.mail-archive.com/viphone@googlegroups.com/.
>> To post to this group, send email to viphone@googlegroups.com.
>> To unsubscribe from this group, send email toviphone+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
>> For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/viphone?hl=en.
> -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the "VIPhone" Google Group.
> To search the VIPhone public archive, visit http://www.mail-archive.com/viphone@googlegroups.com/.
> To post to this group, send email to viphone@googlegroups.com.
> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to viphone+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
> For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/viphone?hl=en.
-----Original Message-----
From: viphone@googlegroups.com [mailto:viphone@googlegroups.com] On Behalf
Of Scott Rumery
Sent: Saturday, July 21, 2012 11:55 AM
To: viphone@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: The Sherlock Holmes Of OCR Apps
Hi Chuck,
How far from what your are trying to scan do you hold your phone? I would
recommend that you experiment with this and each time that you get a scan
with a lot of gibberish just move the phone a little closer to your
document. Remember that good lighting is crucial to a successful scan.
I have had no success with this app.
I followed the tips, and I am in normal office lighting. I have
tried to scan, an email, a electric bill, a letter, and a page from a book.
I have tried different positions, scan lengths ETC.
I will only get one or two words, and those are usually wrong.
out of curiosity I tried using Text grabber on the same material.
It worked about 90% of the time.
Any ideas?
Chuck
On Saturday, July 21, 2012 7:50:53 AM UTC-7, VaShaun Jones wrote:
How many times have you wished that there was a good OCR
solution for your IOS device? Well, the latest OCR app to hit the Apple IOS
AppStore just may be what you have been waiting for.
-- You received this message because you are subscribed to the
"VIPhone" Google Group.
To search the VIPhone public archive, visit
http://www.mail-archive.com/viphone@googlegroups.com/.
To post to this group, send email to viphone@googlegroups.com.
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to
viphone+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
For more options, visit this group at
http://groups.google.com/group/viphone?hl=en.
--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the "VIPhone" Google
Group.
To search the VIPhone public archive, visit
http://www.mail-archive.com/viphone@googlegroups.com/.
To post to this group, send email to viphone@googlegroups.com.
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to
viphone+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
For more options, visit this group at
http://groups.google.com/group/viphone?hl=en.
The only problem I have with this ap is that I can never get a whole page! Quite frustrating as this ap seems to work the best for me!
Jenifer Gilley
email
claudas...@gmail.com
MSN: claudas...@cox.net
----- Original Message ----- From: Amy Billman To: viphone@googlegroups.com Sent: Saturday, July 21, 2012 1:05 PM
Subject: RE: The Sherlock Holmes Of OCR Apps
I think this scanning apps discussion is very interesting.
I am one of those who could not get prismo or Saytext to work at all, but can with Text Detective.
I suppose that really it all comes down to, (just like with anything else,) what works for one isn't always going to work for another.
Meanwhile, am I the only one who wishes that if they bought an app and didn't like it or it didn't work for them, but maybe it would work for someone else, that they could gift their coppy to them? At least then your money isn't going to waste. *smile*
Amy Billman
Check out my company for your screen protector and phone accessory needs!
SpeedDots: the makers of the tactile screen protector
From: viphone@googlegroups.com [mailto:viphone@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Sandy Finley
Sent: Saturday, July 21, 2012 9:53 AM
To: viphone@googlegroups.com
Subject: RE: The Sherlock Holmes Of OCR Apps
Vashaun, I think that any scanning app that requires us to tap the "start scanning" button while simultaneously attempting to hold the camera steady and straight is not considering the needs of those of us who are totally blind. It may work if you have enough vision to help you align, but it sure isn't working for me! I am sorry I bought it. What scanning success I have had has been with either Prizmo, where one can use one's voice to activate the camera shutter, or SayText, where I can tap the button prior to raising the camera.
Sandy
From: viphone@googlegroups.com [mailto:viphone@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of VaShaun Jones
Sent: Saturday, July 21, 2012 10:51 AM
To: viphone@googlegroups.com
Subject: The Sherlock Holmes Of OCR Apps
How many times have you wished that there was a good OCR solution for your IOS device? Well, the latest OCR app to hit the Apple IOS AppStore just may be what you have been waiting for.
The Sherlock Holmes Of OCR Apps- Full Article
-- You received this message because you are subscribed to the "VIPhone" Google Group.
To search the VIPhone public archive, visit http://www.mail-archive.com/viphone@googlegroups.com/.
To post to this group, send email to viphone@googlegroups.com.
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to viphone+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/viphone?hl=en.
-- You received this message because you are subscribed to the "VIPhone" Google Group.
To search the VIPhone public archive, visit http://www.mail-archive.com/viphone@googlegroups.com/.
To post to this group, send email to viphone@googlegroups.com.
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to viphone+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/viphone?hl=en.
__________ Information from ESET Smart Security, version of virus signature database 7317 (20120721) __________
-- You received this message because you are subscribed to the "VIPhone" Google Group.
To search the VIPhone public archive, visit http://www.mail-archive.com/viphone@googlegroups.com/.
To post to this group, send email to viphone@googlegroups.com.
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to viphone+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/viphone?hl=en.
While I agree that having an automatic shoot option is a great idea, not having one has not hindered me from using this app. I have gotten pretty good results with it. I have used both SayText and Prizmo and had trouble with each of them. SayText gave me no good results. Prizmo, while sometimes giving me good results, took way too long just to get the results. So I found that the app was not worth using. I find that TextDetective works best with single pages that are lying completely flat. It also works well with bigger books. I found paperbacks hard to hold open, And I never got legible results with them. The app also states that magazines do not work well with it either. I found that to be true unless the magazine was all text. I did have a magazine that I knew was all text, and that worked very well. I know that this app will not work well for everyone, but these are just my experiences.
Sent from my iPhone
On Jul 21, 2012, at 11:56 AM, Scott Rumery <blindfait...@gmail.com> wrote:
>> I think it would make sense to recommend that the developer consider allowing you to leave the phone flat on the paper and once the button is tapped, have you lift until the page is in view for the camera. In other words combine the functionality of SayText and Text Detective. Seems a marriage of both apps would produce a pretty interesting result.
>> On Jul 21, 2012, at 2:12 PM, blind Treasures <blindtreasu...@comcast.net> wrote:
>>> I'm another one of those who has tried all those other OCR apps with no success. With only a few attempts with TextDetective Blind Treasures I was able to get very good results. It all comes down to holding the phone at the right height and lighting. For a first release, this is a wonderful app and I hope they keep improving it.
>>> Blind Treasures
>>> Sales: sa...@blindtreasures.com
>>> Skype: kingmeade
>>> Web Page: http://www.blindtreasures.com >>> From: viphone@googlegroups.com [mailto:viphone@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Amy Billman
>>> Sent: Saturday, July 21, 2012 1:05 PM
>>> To: viphone@googlegroups.com
>>> Subject: RE: The Sherlock Holmes Of OCR Apps
>>> I think this scanning apps discussion is very interesting.
>>> I am one of those who could not get prismo or Saytext to work at all, but can with Text Detective.
>>> I suppose that really it all comes down to, (just like with anything else,) what works for one isn’t always going to work for another.
>>> Meanwhile, am I the only one who wishes that if they bought an app and didn’t like it or it didn’t work for them, but maybe it would work for someone else, that they could gift their coppy to them? At least then your money isn’t going to waste. *smile*
>>> Amy Billman
>>> Check out my company for your screen protector and phone accessory needs!
>>> SpeedDots: the makers of the tactile screen protector
>>> http://www.SpeedDots.com >>> Follow us on Twitter:
>>> http://www.twitter.com/SpeedDots >>> Like us on Facebook:
>>> http://www.facebook.com/SpeedDots
>>> From: viphone@googlegroups.com [mailto:viphone@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Sandy Finley
>>> Sent: Saturday, July 21, 2012 9:53 AM
>>> To: viphone@googlegroups.com
>>> Subject: RE: The Sherlock Holmes Of OCR Apps
>>> Vashaun, I think that any scanning app that requires us to tap the “start scanning” button while simultaneously attempting to hold the camera steady and straight is not considering the needs of those of us who are totally blind. It may work if you have enough vision to help you align, but it sure isn’t working for me! I am sorry I bought it. What scanning success I have had has been with either Prizmo, where one can use one’s voice to activate the camera shutter, orSayText, where I can tap the button prior to raising the camera.
>>> Sandy
>>> From: viphone@googlegroups.com [mailto:viphone@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of VaShaun Jones
>>> Sent: Saturday, July 21, 2012 10:51 AM
>>> To: viphone@googlegroups.com
>>> Subject: The Sherlock Holmes Of OCR Apps
>>> How many times have you wished that there was a good OCR solution for your IOS device? Well, the latest OCR app to hit the Apple IOS AppStore just may be what you have been waiting for.
>>> The Sherlock Holmes Of OCR Apps- Full Article
>>> -- >>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the "VIPhone" Google Group.
>>> To search the VIPhone public archive, visit http://www.mail-archive.com/viphone@googlegroups.com/.
>>> To post to this group, send email to viphone@googlegroups.com.
>>> To unsubscribe from this group, send email toviphone+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
>>> For more options, visit this group athttp://groups.google.com/group/viphone?hl=en.
>>> -- >>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the "VIPhone" Google Group.
>>> To search the VIPhone public archive, visit
Are you saying that the subject line should be changed to include "Text
Detective" so people wanting information on Text Detective could easily
find it in the future? If so, I went ahead and added that to the subject
line, but there's no reason you couldn't have done that as well Jon!
*smile* This is not a serious complaint or criticism, but just a gentle
nudge.
Also, although it's true that "Text Detective" wasn't in the subject
line, "OCR" was, so I think most people looking for information on Text
Detective would still stumble across it, but thinking about good subject
lines is a good point. I was looking through my folders on posts
concerning GPS apps, and I definitely appreciate good subject lines!
> Hi,
> Just a quick comment on the subject line here. Anyone looking for Text
> Detective won't find this thread.
> Jon
> -----Original Message-----
> From: viphone@googlegroups.com [mailto:viphone@googlegroups.com] On Behalf
> Of Scott Rumery
> Sent: Saturday, July 21, 2012 11:55 AM
> To: viphone@googlegroups.com
> Subject: Re: The Sherlock Holmes Of OCR Apps
> Hi Chuck,
> How far from what your are trying to scan do you hold your phone? I would
> recommend that you experiment with this and each time that you get a scan
> with a lot of gibberish just move the phone a little closer to your
> document. Remember that good lighting is crucial to a successful scan.
> I have had no success with this app.
> I followed the tips, and I am in normal office lighting. I have
> tried to scan, an email, a electric bill, a letter, and a page from a book.
> I have tried different positions, scan lengths ETC.
> I will only get one or two words, and those are usually wrong.
> out of curiosity I tried using Text grabber on the same material.
> It worked about 90% of the time.
> Any ideas?
> Chuck
> On Saturday, July 21, 2012 7:50:53 AM UTC-7, VaShaun Jones wrote:
> How many times have you wished that there was a good OCR
> solution for your IOS device? Well, the latest OCR app to hit the Apple IOS
> AppStore just may be what you have been waiting for.
> -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the
> "VIPhone" Google Group.
> To search the VIPhone public archive, visit
> http://www.mail-archive.com/viphone@googlegroups.com/.
> To post to this group, send email to viphone@googlegroups.com.
> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to
> viphone+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
> For more options, visit this group at
> http://groups.google.com/group/viphone?hl=en.
> --
> You received this message because you are subscribed to the "VIPhone" Google
> Group.
> To search the VIPhone public archive, visit
> http://www.mail-archive.com/viphone@googlegroups.com/.
> To post to this group, send email to viphone@googlegroups.com.
> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to
> viphone+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
> For more options, visit this group at
> http://groups.google.com/group/viphone?hl=en.
Having looked at the description of this app, I see no reference to other languages, and yet it is in the French appstore. Does it support any other languages?
No, Text Detective does not yet support languages other than English. What that means for languages like French, which use a Latin alphabet, is that you'll get many of the words, but characters where you have an "e" with an acute accent will show up as the number "6", for example.
The plus side is that it is simple to use, and it gives people some better immediate results because it has them hold the phone in landscape mode, which is the way most VoiceOver users will pick up their iPhones, and is easier to keep documents in alignment. However, because you're holding the phone this way, and the document has to be in portrait mode, you don't get the full page -- only a section of it. There's no setting to turn flash on, again in the interests of keeping things simple. Unlike Prizmo, TextGrabber, and Perfect OCR, you need to orient the page correctly to get results. The program won't work if the document is upside down or rotated 90 degrees as it will for these other programs.
The design philosophy, I believe, is to let people get some results right away. If you don't get results, you simply rotate the page and try again, and because it's relatively fast to navigate the controls, it's not hard to do this.
In my estimation, the actual time to OCR is not really faster than with Prizmo. The complication that I believe most people find with Prizmo, apart from having to practice the alignment and holding things flat and in good light, is that there are multiple steps, even though most of this is just double-tapping the "Next" button in the top right corner. And if Prizmo were to implement a "quick process" mode where it assumed all the defaults and that you'd make no changes at all (since you need vision to crop, adjust images, etc.), I bet that would make things a lot easier for VoiceOver users.
With Text Detective you still have to hold things flat, aligned, and in good light, but there are fewer steps. It is also more tolerant of slight alignment errors, just as Prizmo is more tolerant of such errors than most OCR programs (believe it or not).
For people who are having difficulty pressing the "Start Scan" button in Text Detective while holding the phone flat, try putting your forefinger on the button while you hold the phone in landscape mode with your two hands, but keep your middle finger free. Then, when you have lifted your phone to the correct height, use a split tap with your middle finger to press the button without shaking the phone.
I think Text Detective has good features, but won't give full page information in its current mode. By the way, Perfect OCR supports Russian, although I haven't tested that out yet -- just the French. And TextGrabber gives the full range of ABBYY's OCR language support, so should also support Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Arabic, etc. in addition to the above.
HTH. Cheers,
Esther
On Jul 21, 2012, at 10:33 AM, Anne Robertson wrote:
> Having looked at the description of this app, I see no reference to other languages, and yet it is in the French appstore. Does it support any other languages?
> Hi,
> Just a quick comment on the subject line here. Anyone looking for Text
> Detective won't find this thread.
> Jon
> -----Original Message-----
> From: viphone@googlegroups.com [mailto:viphone@googlegroups.com] On Behalf
> Of Scott Rumery
> Sent: Saturday, July 21, 2012 11:55 AM
> To: viphone@googlegroups.com
> Subject: Re: The Sherlock Holmes Of OCR Apps
> Hi Chuck,
> How far from what your are trying to scan do you hold your phone? I would
> recommend that you experiment with this and each time that you get a scan
> with a lot of gibberish just move the phone a little closer to your
> document. Remember that good lighting is crucial to a successful scan.
> I have had no success with this app.
> I followed the tips, and I am in normal office lighting. I have
> tried to scan, an email, a electric bill, a letter, and a page from a book.
> I have tried different positions, scan lengths ETC.
> I will only get one or two words, and those are usually wrong.
> out of curiosity I tried using Text grabber on the same material.
> It worked about 90% of the time.
> Any ideas?
> Chuck
> On Saturday, July 21, 2012 7:50:53 AM UTC-7, VaShaun Jones wrote:
> How many times have you wished that there was a good OCR
> solution for your IOS device? Well, the latest OCR app to hit the Apple IOS
> AppStore just may be what you have been waiting for.
> -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the
> "VIPhone" Google Group.
> To search the VIPhone public archive, visit
> http://www.mail-archive.com/viphone@googlegroups.com/.
> To post to this group, send email to viphone@googlegroups.com.
> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to
> viphone+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
> For more options, visit this group at
> http://groups.google.com/group/viphone?hl=en.
> --
> You received this message because you are subscribed to the "VIPhone" Google
> Group.
> To search the VIPhone public archive, visit
> http://www.mail-archive.com/viphone@googlegroups.com/.
> To post to this group, send email to viphone@googlegroups.com.
> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to
> viphone+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
> For more options, visit this group at
> http://groups.google.com/group/viphone?hl=en.
> -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the "VIPhone" Google Group.
> To search the VIPhone public archive, visit http://www.mail-archive.com/viphone@googlegroups.com/.
> To post to this group, send email to viphone@googlegroups.com.
> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to viphone+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
> For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/viphone?hl=en.
I thought the comment about most Voiceover users picking up their phone in landscape mode interesting. I actually have always used mine in portrait mode. I wonder though if the page has to be oriented correctly, I assume (and this probably is a pretty silly question) Text Detective already assumes the camera is oriented in the lower right corner, thus being 90 degrees off from what may be considered correct orientation? In other words could people have less than stellar results if the phone were oriented in the portrait mode? I don't know if the instructions tell you to put the phone in landscape mode, but would assume it does. I find this pretty interesting actually.
I do agree the simplicity of Text Detective does make it attractive, but even as a 1.0 app I would have thought maybe the dev would have accounted for some features such as using the flash or auto flash and orientation of the document. I will be watching this app closely to see what comes next. Interestingly, this app was mentioned in a message that went out to the Section 508 working group in the agency where I work. The Section 508 working group is an interesting name since the objective of the group is to deal with accessibility of all IT and other technologies used in the workplace, although we tend to stray into other areas. :)
Thanks for sharing the information.
Scott
On Jul 21, 2012, at 5:09 PM, Esther <mori...@mac.com> wrote:
> No, Text Detective does not yet support languages other than English. What that means for languages like French, which use a Latin alphabet, is that you'll get many of the words, but characters where you have an "e" with an acute accent will show up as the number "6", for example.
> The plus side is that it is simple to use, and it gives people some better immediate results because it has them hold the phone in landscape mode, which is the way most VoiceOver users will pick up their iPhones, and is easier to keep documents in alignment. However, because you're holding the phone this way, and the document has to be in portrait mode, you don't get the full page -- only a section of it. There's no setting to turn flash on, again in the interests of keeping things simple. Unlike Prizmo, TextGrabber, and Perfect OCR, you need to orient the page correctly to get results. The program won't work if the document is upside down or rotated 90 degrees as it will for these other programs.
> The design philosophy, I believe, is to let people get some results right away. If you don't get results, you simply rotate the page and try again, and because it's relatively fast to navigate the controls, it's not hard to do this.
> In my estimation, the actual time to OCR is not really faster than with Prizmo. The complication that I believe most people find with Prizmo, apart from having to practice the alignment and holding things flat and in good light, is that there are multiple steps, even though most of this is just double-tapping the "Next" button in the top right corner. And if Prizmo were to implement a "quick process" mode where it assumed all the defaults and that you'd make no changes at all (since you need vision to crop, adjust images, etc.), I bet that would make things a lot easier for VoiceOver users.
> With Text Detective you still have to hold things flat, aligned, and in good light, but there are fewer steps. It is also more tolerant of slight alignment errors, just as Prizmo is more tolerant of such errors than most OCR programs (believe it or not).
> For people who are having difficulty pressing the "Start Scan" button in Text Detective while holding the phone flat, try putting your forefinger on the button while you hold the phone in landscape mode with your two hands, but keep your middle finger free. Then, when you have lifted your phone to the correct height, use a split tap with your middle finger to press the button without shaking the phone.
> I think Text Detective has good features, but won't give full page information in its current mode. By the way, Perfect OCR supports Russian, although I haven't tested that out yet -- just the French. And TextGrabber gives the full range of ABBYY's OCR language support, so should also support Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Arabic, etc. in addition to the above.
> HTH. Cheers,
> Esther
> On Jul 21, 2012, at 10:33 AM, Anne Robertson wrote:
>> Having looked at the description of this app, I see no reference to other languages, and yet it is in the French appstore. Does it support any other languages?
>> Cheers,
>> Anne
> -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the "VIPhone" Google Group.
> To search the VIPhone public archive, visit http://www.mail-archive.com/viphone@googlegroups.com/.
> To post to this group, send email to viphone@googlegroups.com.
> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to viphone+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
> For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/viphone?hl=en.
I finally got some success with this app. I printed a story and then scanned it with this app. The first thing I noticed is that the tips say to hold the iPhone about a forearm's length away from the page. The person who wrote that must have very short forearms. :) I got results when I held the phone about 12 inches away. The results were good, but not great. about 80% correct. But the main flaw I see is it only scans half of the page.
The app also did not give me enough time to orient the page correctly, so I had to do a few scans to get one that would read. I assume that this works better for those with no vision, as you could move the phone around until you got a good scan.
I am glad to hear that this app is working well for many people,but, personally with the limited vision I have Text Grabber is still the best OCR app, I have it configured so only one tap of the camera button and it will give me a full readable page in less than a minute.
Hi Chuck, Can you tell me what if any settings you have changed with Text Grabber? I get a good scan but don't always get the full page even if I change the hight at which I hold the phone.
----- Original Message ----- From: Chuck Dean To: viphone@googlegroups.com Sent: Saturday, July 21, 2012 5:54 PM
Subject: Re: The Sherlock Holmes Of OCR Apps
I finally got some success with this app.
I printed a story and then scanned it with this app. The first thing I noticed is that the tips say to hold the iPhone about a forearm's length away from the page. The person who wrote that must have very short forearms. :)
I got results when I held the phone about 12 inches away. The results were good, but not great. about 80% correct.
But the main flaw I see is it only scans half of the page.
The app also did not give me enough time to orient the page correctly, so I had to do a few scans to get one that would read. I assume that this works better for those with no vision, as you could move the phone around until you got a good scan.
I am glad to hear that this app is working well for many people,but,
personally with the limited vision I have Text Grabber is still the best OCR app,
I have it configured so only one tap of the camera button and it will give me a full readable page in less than a minute.
Chuck
-- You received this message because you are subscribed to the "VIPhone" Google Group.
To search the VIPhone public archive, visit http://www.mail-archive.com/viphone@googlegroups.com/.
To post to this group, send email to viphone@googlegroups.com.
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to viphone+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/viphone?hl=en.
I stated that comment about picking up the phone in landscape mode badly. I meant to say that most VoiceOver users who use OCR apps, and lift their iPhones above the page, find it easier to lift it and keep it flat and stable, if they hold their phone with their hands along the long dimension (i.e. "landscape" mode). I do pick up and hold my iPhone in portrait orientation, and I can lift it and keep it fairly flat now, even with just one hand, in portrait orientation, and get pretty good results with OCR apps. (This is the result of muscle memory kicking in after training). However, if I were to teach someone, in person, how to use an OCR app, I might well have them rotate everything so that the document and phone are horizontally oriented, and so they can pick up the iPhone more stably in landscape mode.
For the extreme example, think about picking up a ruler, and being told to hold it flat in the air. It is extremely difficult to hold the ends of the short dimension and keep the ruler from twisting. Or think about carrying a long, thin, package. You'll always hold the rectangle by the long ends if you're carrying a stack of boxes and trying to balance them.
The instructions for TextDetective do tell you to hold the phone in landscape mode:
<begin quote>
How to scan and read text
1. Select the “Scan” tab.
2. Place the phone in landscape and the home button
aligned with the right or left edge of the document.
3. Recommendation: when pointing the phone at text,
try to keep the phone straight and parallel to the text
object.
4. Lift the phone away from the document-about a
forearm’s length. Don't tilt or rotate, keep the phone straight.
5. Hit the “Start Scan” button and wait for the
“evaluating” prompt.
6. Phone will vibrate for found detections.
7. Once OCR is complete, a text field with all the
detected text will be shown. VoiceOver will speak all
the results.
8. To read the individual results one by one, tap the
"individual detections" button. In VoiceOver mode,
use three finger gesture swipe left-right to navigate
use three finger gesture swipe left-right to navigate
through results (single finger swipe in non VoiceOver
mode).
9. Hit Done-Back button to rescan.
10. Note: Text may be at the top of the document. If
results aren't satisfactory, try placing the phone
nearer the top part of the page, while still aligning the
home button with the left or right edge of the
document. Then lift the phone and scan again.
<end quote>
This combination of holding the iPhone in landscape mode while the document page has to be in portrait mode almost guarantees that you won't be able to get the entire text read at once unless you're reading a section of a page where there is only text in the central third, or so of the page. Or this will work for reading letter envelopes.
There's another thing about holding the phone in landscape mode -- you can use the edges of the portrait page to check your alignment, because they're not so far from the edge of the phone.
I think the fact that the developer of TextDetective was able to get National Institutes of Health grant funding to support some of the work in the app (see the app description page), and also bring down the cost of the initial app so that more people could try it and get started, was also a deliberate decision.
I'd be really curious to hear the impressions from people who train others (and who have mastered using OCR apps themselves), about what the most effective teaching methods to use are.
> I thought the comment about most Voiceover users picking up their phone in landscape mode interesting. I actually have always used mine in portrait mode. I wonder though if the page has to be oriented correctly, I assume (and this probably is a pretty silly question) Text Detective already assumes the camera is oriented in the lower right corner, thus being 90 degrees off from what may be considered correct orientation? In other words could people have less than stellar results if the phone were oriented in the portrait mode? I don't know if the instructions tell you to put the phone in landscape mode, but would assume it does. I find this pretty interesting actually.
> I do agree the simplicity of Text Detective does make it attractive, but even as a 1.0 app I would have thought maybe the dev would have accounted for some features such as using the flash or auto flash and orientation of the document. I will be watching this app closely to see what comes next. Interestingly, this app was mentioned in a message that went out to the Section 508 working group in the agency where I work. The Section 508 working group is an interesting name since the objective of the group is to deal with accessibility of all IT and other technologies used in the workplace, although we tend to stray into other areas. :)
> Thanks for sharing the information.
> Scott
> On Jul 21, 2012, at 5:09 PM, Esther <mori...@mac.com> wrote:
>> Hi Anne and Others,
>> No, Text Detective does not yet support languages other than English. What that means for languages like French, which use a Latin alphabet, is that you'll get many of the words, but characters where you have an "e" with an acute accent will show up as the number "6", for example.
>> The plus side is that it is simple to use, and it gives people some better immediate results because it has them hold the phone in landscape mode, which is the way most VoiceOver users will pick up their iPhones, and is easier to keep documents in alignment. However, because you're holding the phone this way, and the document has to be in portrait mode, you don't get the full page -- only a section of it. There's no setting to turn flash on, again in the interests of keeping things simple. Unlike Prizmo, TextGrabber, and Perfect OCR, you need to orient the page correctly to get results. The program won't work if the document is upside down or rotated 90 degrees as it will for these other programs.
>> The design philosophy, I believe, is to let people get some results right away. If you don't get results, you simply rotate the page and try again, and because it's relatively fast to navigate the controls, it's not hard to do this.
>> In my estimation, the actual time to OCR is not really faster than with Prizmo. The complication that I believe most people find with Prizmo, apart from having to practice the alignment and holding things flat and in good light, is that there are multiple steps, even though most of this is just double-tapping the "Next" button in the top right corner. And if Prizmo were to implement a "quick process" mode where it assumed all the defaults and that you'd make no changes at all (since you need vision to crop, adjust images, etc.), I bet that would make things a lot easier for VoiceOver users.
>> With Text Detective you still have to hold things flat, aligned, and in good light, but there are fewer steps. It is also more tolerant of slight alignment errors, just as Prizmo is more tolerant of such errors than most OCR programs (believe it or not).
>> For people who are having difficulty pressing the "Start Scan" button in Text Detective while holding the phone flat, try putting your forefinger on the button while you hold the phone in landscape mode with your two hands, but keep your middle finger free. Then, when you have lifted your phone to the correct height, use a split tap with your middle finger to press the button without shaking the phone.
>> I think Text Detective has good features, but won't give full page information in its current mode. By the way, Perfect OCR supports Russian, although I haven't tested that out yet -- just the French. And TextGrabber gives the full range of ABBYY's OCR language support, so should also support Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Arabic, etc. in addition to the above.
>> HTH. Cheers,
>> Esther
>> On Jul 21, 2012, at 10:33 AM, Anne Robertson wrote:
>>> Having looked at the description of this app, I see no reference to other languages, and yet it is in the French appstore. Does it support any other languages?
This is not Chuck, but I've used TextGrabber successfully. You could try turning the switch for "Enable crop" to "off" under Settings. The other thing you can do is try using the Light Detector app to judge the height and position at which to hold your phone. For OCR apps like Prizmo, TextGrabbber, and Perfect OCR, the sound will be loudest when you are at about the correct height and centering. For Say Text you can start from that height and expect to lift your phone at least 2-3 inches higher before you get SayText to register the document is in position for it to automatically proceed by taking a picture.
HTH. Cheers,
Esther
On Jul 21, 2012, at 1:26 PM, Roger Frischenmeyer wrote:
> Hi Chuck, Can you tell me what if any settings you have changed with Text Grabber? I get a good scan but don't always get the full page even if I change the hight at which I hold the phone.
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Chuck Dean
> To: viphone@googlegroups.com
> Sent: Saturday, July 21, 2012 5:54 PM
> Subject: Re: The Sherlock Holmes Of OCR Apps
> I finally got some success with this app.
> I printed a story and then scanned it with this app. The first thing I noticed is that the tips say to hold the iPhone about a forearm's length away from the page. The person who wrote that must have very short forearms. :)
> I got results when I held the phone about 12 inches away. The results were good, but not great. about 80% correct.
> But the main flaw I see is it only scans half of the page.
> The app also did not give me enough time to orient the page correctly, so I had to do a few scans to get one that would read. I assume that this works better for those with no vision, as you could move the phone around until you got a good scan.
> I am glad to hear that this app is working well for many people,but,
> personally with the limited vision I have Text Grabber is still the best OCR app,
> I have it configured so only one tap of the camera button and it will give me a full readable page in less than a minute.
Hi, In text grabber settings I have my language set to English my search engine set to Google and all other buttons are set to off. I hold my iPhone about 12 inches above a page when I am scanning it. That seems to be the optimum distance.
