The camera on your smartphone can also be used in different ways than taking pictures of food or feet on the beach. In addition to photos, videos, videochat and self-shots, the phone's camera is also a powerful tool that can be used in different ways, as a barcode scanner, as a real scanner, as a translator or to use augmented reality applications.
The following applications are just a few examples of what can be done with the camera of an Android or Windows Phone smartphone or with an iPhone .
READ ALSO: 11 Curious tricks with the camera of each mobile phone
1) Look at products in person and then buy them online
There are many good reasons to look at the products in person before buying them, but online shopping is often much more convenient.
So if you are in a shop, you can use an app to scan the barcode of that product and then see what price is made online for that same product.
A good application to do this is that of Amazon (Android and iPhone), also mentioned among the tricks and apps to buy in online stores at the lowest price.
2) If the barcode reading does not work or if it is not possible, you can always try the Google image search, taking a picture of it and then searching, to find prices on portals such as the Trovaprezzi.
Only on Android and iPhone, you can use Google Goggles, to search for images similar to those of the photo taken.
3) Translate the signs or writings in a foreign language
When going to a foreign country and encountering an incomprehensible folder, it can be useful to have an instant translation of it.
With the Google Translate application (Android and iPhone) it is possible to take a photo of the written one and get the translation without having to write it (which is also impossible if it is a language with a different alphabet such as Russian or Japanese).
Google Translate isn't perfect, but it can work surprisingly well and is faster than any other system.
Better still is the Word Lens app, for translating with the camera in real time.
4) Augmented Reality
"Augmented reality" is a fairly simple concept; the smartphone captures a live photo from its camera and uses its software to interpret that image and modify it by superimposing artificial elements that are not really there.
Another article lists the best augmented reality apps for Android .
5) Know what places we have near
If you point your mobile phone camera on a road or framing a landscape, always using augmented reality technology, there are applications capable of indicating on the screen, above the real image, the names of the places you are looking at and those closest to you .
In this way it is not only easy to know how to reach them, but also where you are.
An example of such an app is Wikitude for Android and iPhone.
6) Scanner
You can use your smartphone camera as a scanner to scan receipts or other documents as you would a computer scanner.
With some applications you not only photograph the document but you can also convert it to PDF so as to make it searchable inside.
they will perform OCR to analyze the text and convert it to a searchable PDF file.
To find out which applications to use, read the article on how to scan PDF documents from iPhone and Android .
7) Scan QR codes
Smartphone cameras can also be used to scan the QR codes or barcodes you see around.
In another article, the guide on how to create, scan and read QR codes
8) Turn your smartphone into a surveillance camera
As already explained, with a smartphone it is possible to create a surveillance system using its camera.
In this regard, the following articles can also be read:
- Turn iPhone into spy camera and audio and video recorder
- Use the Android camera as a webcam for the PC
- Best Apps to spy on your mobile phone (Android and iPhone)
Smartphones are real pocket computers, so it's no wonder that they can be used in different ways than the standard phone and camera functions.
If you have other applications or other ideas on how to use your mobile phone camera in mind, let us know and leave a comment.
