Using a camera as a scanner is nothing new but it depends on how good the software is that performs the optical character recognition (OCR). Snapter is a program that has just exited a beta program that purports to be the solution for us all. To use Snapter you take a picture of a document with your camera, even phone cameras will do, and bring it into the program on your Windows-based PC. Snapter has three different "project" types to optimize the recognition depending on what you are trying to capture, document (for flat pieces of paper), card (for business cards), and book. The book project handles the curving of the pages into the spine and is used to capture text from open books.
Page orientation doesn’t matter to Snapter, it can detect when pages are sideways for instance and handle them accordingly. What the program sets out to do is provide the equivalent of portable scanning using any phone at hand and lets the user capture those bits of information that are too important to let get away. The program is $49, kind of pricey for a single function program but the type of utility that if you need it you really need it. To use Snapter you must have the .NET Framework 2.0 installed, and they offer a 14 day fully functional free trial.
To give jkOnTheRun readers a chance to give the program a good try the Snapter folks have supplied four free licenses to the program. All you need to do is leave a comment on this thread describing how Snapter could be a useful tool in your mobile toolkit and we’ll pick the best four. Those lucky folks will each get the $49 program totally free so enter right now. We’ll announce the winners in a day or two so don’t delay. Make sure you use a valid email address with your post so we can notify you if you’re a winner.
UPDATE: The winners have been chosen and this contest is now closed. Thanks for participating and visiting jkOnTheRun!

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