When you need to copy something down, you probably do just that. You grab a piece of paper or a notebook and you write it down, verbatim or shorthand. Today, many people are carrying handheld devices, smartphones, which are proving more and more useful and multifaceted as technology improves. Today we’ll be taking a look at OCR (optical character recognition) software built for smartphones that allows you to convert an image of text into actual editable text.
Five years ago the concept of taking a picture and running OCR software on one’s phone was inconceivable. Advancements in two smartphone features have made it possible now. The first aspect that needed upgrading was the camera. The original iPhone (which recently celebrated its fifth birthday) has a 2-megapixel camera that pales in comparison to today’s iPhone 4S, which boasts 8-megapixels and rivals the quality of consumer-level digital cameras. The second thing that now allows more powerful software is the development of faster mobile processor chips. Smartphones today are beginning to ship with quad-core processors, something computers only began doing in the last decade.
Today’s review covers two apps for Apple’s iOS, ABBYY Textgrabber + Translator and Ricoh Innovation’s Image to Text – OCR. Testing was done on an iPhone 4 and an iPhone 4S, with identical documents scanned. Textgrabber + Translator costs $0.99 while Image to Text – OCR is free.
These apps operate similarly in their functionality. Both provide a camera feature built-in as well as allowing the user to select an already existing image on the phone. While the apps’ cameras are convenient, I noticed right away that neither allows using the iPhone’s volume up button as a shutter-release. Only Apple’s own Camera app has that feature, and I’ve found that squeezing a tactile button produces better stability than pressing the screen. For this reason, I recommend taking whatever images you intend to OCR using Apple’s Camera app, and then loading them for OCR separately. This stability is of paramount importance when trying to convert an image to text because any blurriness or discrepancies in the image will lower accuracy of the recognition software. I also recommend taking more than one photo in quick succession as it increases your chances of getting a crystal-clear picture.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("Martinus Luther") to His Friend the Theologian Gerhard Wiskamp ("Gerardo Xantho Lampadario"). $100,000 - $150,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: An Exceptionally Fine Copy of Austenís Emma: A Novel in Three Volumes. $40,000 - $60,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Presentation Copy of Ernest Hemmingwayís A Farewell to Arms for Edward Titus of the Black Mankin Press. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Manuscript Signed Integrally for "The Songs of Pooh," by Alan Alexander. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Manuscript of "Three Fragments from Gˆtterd‰mmerung" by Richard Wagner. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Original Preliminary Artwork, for the First Edition of Snow Crash. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("T.R. Malthus") to Economist Nassau Senior on Wealth, Labor and Adam Smith. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides Finely Bound by Michael Wilcox. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: First Edition of Lewis and Clark: Travels to the Source of the Missouri River and Across the American Continent to the Pacific Ocean. $8,000 - $12,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Original Artwork for the First Edition of Neal Stephenson's Groundbreaking Novel Snow Crash. $100,000 - $150,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: A Complete Set Signed Deluxe Editions of King's The Dark Tower Series by Stephen King. $8,000 - $12,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("John Adams") to James Le Ray de Chaumont During the Crucial Years of the Revolutionary War. $8,000 - $12,000.
Sotheby’s Book Week December 9-17, 2025
Sotheby’s, Dec. 12: Hooke, Robert. Micrographia: or some Physiological Descriptions of Minute Bodies made by Magnifying Glasses. London: James Allestry for the Royal Society, 1667. $12,000 to $15,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 12: Chappuzeau, Samuel. The history of jewels, first edition in English. London: T.N. for Hobart Kemp, 1671. $12,000 to $18,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 12: Sowerby, James. Exotic Mineralogy, containing his most realistic mineral depictions, London: Benjamin Meredith, 1811, Arding and Merrett, 1817. $5,000 to $7,000.
Heritage Auctions Rare Books Signature Auction December 15, 2025
Heritage, Dec. 15: John Donne. Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death. London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.
Heritage, Dec. 15: Edgar Rice Burroughs. Tarzan of the Apes.
Heritage, Dec. 15: F. Scott Fitzgerald. Tender is the Night. A Romance.
Heritage, Dec. 15: Jerry Thomas. How to Mix Drinks, or the Bon-Vivant's Companion, Containing Clear and Reliable Directions for Mixing All the Beverages Used in the United States…
![<b>Heritage, Dec. 15:</b> John Donne. <i>Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death.</i> London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/8caddaea-4c1f-47a7-9455-62f53af36e3f.jpg "<b>Heritage, Dec. 15:</b> John Donne. <i>Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death.</i> London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.")
