OCR on Android?

[spacelounge]

I haven't been able to figure it out yet; does the OCR scanning function work on the Android version or not?
I thought I read somewhere that OCR wouldn't be included in the Android version since you were waiting for Google's own OCR software, but now it seems people are using OCR on their Androids?

If it's working, is there a certain phone that works better because of better hardware or fewer bugs?

Also, if I do get an Android phone and the beta of Pleco, can I buy the additional dictionaries for the phone, or would I have to wait for the final version?

 

[spacelounge]

My main need is to use Pleco to quickly translate pages out of textbooks and such. I assume this would be best with the Still image OCR?
I managed to find some info on the state of the Android beta on your website, but since I've never used Pleco it's not entirely clear to me what it means.

Basically, I'd like to use the block capture function to translate large chunks of text and read it in English, and save some of the words to lists so I can learn them later.
Will the Android version have problems doing this? Any other problems I should know of when deciding between iPhone and Android?

 

[mikelove]

I haven't been able to figure it out yet; does the OCR scanning function work on the Android version or not?
I thought I read somewhere that OCR wouldn't be included in the Android version since you were waiting for Google's own OCR software, but now it seems people are using OCR on their Androids?

It's supported - that statement was from before we even released OCR on iPhone, but OCR was such a success that we went ahead and licensed / developed it on Android in spite of the possibility of Google stealing our thunder.

If it's working, is there a certain phone that works better because of better hardware or fewer bugs?

Check this forum to see which devices other beta-testers are using - we don't really have a recommended hardware list yet, but some devices do seem to have bugs (mostly relating to screen orientations) so some caution is warranted.

Also, if I do get an Android phone and the beta of Pleco, can I buy the additional dictionaries for the phone, or would I have to wait for the final version?

You can buy additional dictionaries, in fact our entire dictionary line is already available for Android, and the new dictionaries we're launching soon should appear on Android and iOS simultaneously.

Basically, I'd like to use the block capture function to translate large chunks of text and read it in English, and save some of the words to lists so I can learn them later.
Will the Android version have problems doing this? Any other problems I should know of when deciding between iPhone and Android?

The current Android beta version only supports scrolling around still images to look up single words - the finished version should support block capture just as on iOS, but since it's the least popular of the three main modes we decided we could stand to push it to a later beta.

OCR in the finished Android version should be very similar to OCR on iOS - the biggest difference-maker on the horizon is iCloud, which should allow you (among other things) to take a picture of a document with an iPhone and then OCR it on an iPad, but that obviously only helps if you're planning to own both devices, and anyway it seems more likely than not that Google will roll out their own competing service in the not-too-distant future.

 

[spacelounge]

Is there a planned release date for the full version of the Android Pleco, or for a beta with the block capture? i realize that you probably cant or dont want to give firm dates, but if there will be a more complete OCR for Android in say October then I\d go ahead and get an Android instead of Iphone.

Also, I\m mostly looking at getting a Nexus S. I think I read that you\re developing on the Galaxy S which is pretty much the same phone. Does this mean the Nexus S should be among the phones that work best with Pleco?
Currently, the bugs I\ve seen mentioned with the Nexus S are for HWR and landscape view. Anything else? The camera is good enough for OCR, right?

And lastly, how's the OCR'd words to list function? Because I'd like to save the word's I've looked up and study them later. Is this very cumbersome on Android?
thanks for your help!

 

[mikelove]

Is there a planned release date for the full version of the Android Pleco, or for a beta with the block capture? i realize that you probably cant or dont want to give firm dates, but if there will be a more complete OCR for Android in say October then I\d go ahead and get an Android instead of Iphone.

We're really not sure - there are actually a few factors beyond our control involved now (some legal stuff, nothing that would scuttle it altogether but some potential delays). Wouldn't stop us from having a more finished-feeling beta though.

Also, I\m mostly looking at getting a Nexus S. I think I read that you\re developing on the Galaxy S which is pretty much the same phone. Does this mean the Nexus S should be among the phones that work best with Pleco?
Currently, the bugs I\ve seen mentioned with the Nexus S are for HWR and landscape view. Anything else? The camera is good enough for OCR, right?

Those are the main ones we're aware of, but we can't guarantee there aren't still others out there waiting to be found.

And lastly, how's the OCR'd words to list function? Because I'd like to save the word's I've looked up and study them later. Is this very cumbersome on Android?
thanks for your help!

Not too cumbersome - just tap on a button to save the word - but the "barcode reader"-like mode on iOS is a bit smoother - no reason why we wouldn't offer that on Android too eventually though.