A scanner in the palm of your hands Scanning a document can be a real pain, particularly if you're stuck in some sort of loop where you have to print it, sign it, scan it and send it back. CamScanner aims to take a little bit of friction out of that process by making your scanner something you probably have on you anyway: your smartphone. Users can scan documents by taking a picture with their phone's camera and save them as PDF files. The app has some capability to recognize words in a scanned document, so you can search for phrases. The app isn't always great at picking up clear images - users may have to take a couple of snaps to get the light just right - but it beats waiting for the scanner to fire up while you're on the go. (istockphoto) - Camscanner app for iOS.