Thing #3

I installed the Google Goggles.  When I was teaching an adult computer class earlier this year, and was faced with Apple questions, I replied that I was really a Google Girl.  Well, that has been verified further, because the Google Goggles is great.

I have been meaning to download a QR Reader but the Goggles app does so much more. You can read the QR codes, but also art work, logos, and more.  You only need to take a photo with the phone's camera and the app does its magic.  (Google does warn you that it doesn't work well for animals, at least not living ones, but it would probably work for photos of animals.)

For a book's barcode, it read the ISBN number and then gave options of where to look for information.  I chose Google Bookstore, and up came the complete description of the book along with an illustration of its cover.  The possibilities of using this with ISBN numbers are myriad.  Scan a book, go to Google Bookstore, and find books by the same author, or find others in a series. 

You can also take a photo of text in another language and have it translated for you.  I actually could have used this option in Norway (see Thing #2). There is a grid that shows up for taking the photos so that you can keep the text straight and readable.  This is definitely an app that will be used!