Software authors are getting creative in their descriptions.

Last week I received an email about a new application that turns your iPhone into a Scanner. “Wow! I could really use that”, I thought. Instead of taking my paper notes to a  scanner, then transfering those scans into my iPhone for later reference – the technique I use now. I will be able to scan docs right into my iPhone.

Do I move the iPhone across the page like a hand scanner? Do I have any limitations to the distance or light sources? What if I am not straight over the page I am scanning?

Well, these answers would go unanswered until I buy the app. The authors have done a great job of promoting the product but there isn’t many in depth details. You end up having to buy the app to find out it is a iPhone program that allows you to take pictures of your paper docs, stitch a few together into a PDF file. The PDF feature is nice but there are many other programs that give more features and don’t claim to be ‘scanners’. There are apps that let you take a picture of a piece of paper, straighten and offer many more filters. But, you wouldn’t know that till you buy the many different software offerings.

Perhaps, in the near future, more apps will start showing up in the iTunes Store that allow you to load and pay after test usage. Only the developers that are hiding behind lack of information or creative descriptions will avoid this method so people will spend their hard earned money only to learn later they wont be using the software. I’m looking forward to the ‘pay to use the features’ option keeping the honest people honest – let’s hope they don’t start using this to charge for minor feature increases. Time will tell… tell developers how you feel, with your money.

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