Android app allows scanning, editing in Google Docs

Users of Google's Android smartphone can now access their Google Docs files such as documents and spreadsheets, thanks to a new app from the search king. But that's not all: Google said the Docs app not only allows one to upload content from one's phone and open documents directly from Gmail, but also allows their smartphone to scan documents and make them editable. "You can also add a widget to your home screen for easy access to three core tasks: jumping to your starred documents, taking a photo to upload, or creating a new document with one tap," software engineer Reuben Kan said in a blog post. Optical character recognition Kan said that the app even uses the phone’s camera to turn photos with text into editable Google documents with the power of optical character recognition (OCR). He said OCR does a "pretty good job" capturing unformatted text in English although it may not recognize handwriting or some fonts for now. "Just create a new ‘Document from Photo' or select the camera icon from the widget, and your converted document will appear in your documents list shortly after you snap the picture. You can also convert photos already stored on your phone by sharing them with the Google Docs app," he said. Mobile usage on the rise Kan said people are increasingly using mobile phones to access information, from email to web browsing to editing documents. Part of getting work done on the go is being able to easily access, edit and share content, he noted "With this new app it’s easy to filter and search for your content across any Google account, then jump straight into editing docs using the online mobile editors. The app also allows you to easily share items with contacts on your phone, right from within the app," he said. The Google Docs app is currently available in English and works on Android 2.1+ phones. — TJD, GMA News