ScanRHave you ever been at the bookstore browsing through a magazine and thought “I need to remember this article, but I don’t want to buy the magazine”? Well, in that case whip out your cell phone and snap a photo of the page.

scanR is a new service which allows you to e-mail in photos of documents and receive the back converted to PDF format.

Whiteboard PhotoThis service can be extremely useful for documenting whiteboards or other collaborative sessions. Some suggested uses from the site include:

  • Scan whiteboards instead of taking notes during a meeting
  • Share whiteboard notes with your classmates
  • Create digital copies of prototypes and designs made on whiteboards

Document ScanIt’s also possible to send documents in for conversion. A few of the suggested uses for the service include:

  • Email signed expense reports
  • Send notes to meeting attendees
  • Fax a contract while on the road
  • Scan the cover of a book to help find it later
  • Copy classmate’s notes from a class you missed
  • Send real estate listings to your clients
  • Share ideas written on paper with a remote co-worker
  • Make copies without the trip to Kinko’s

The site also lists a Business Card scanning option, but it is currently in closed Beta testing, so the general public will have to wait a little while.

All in all, this is a useful service. Just one word of caution… Sending information to scanR is NOT secure. This means that any photo sent to them for conversion could be intercepted in the process and read by any hacker out there.

In addition, scanR’s Privacy Policy and Terms make it clear that they will archive some of the stuff you send in and will not be responsible if they somehow lose the information (like to hackers).

So, use the service, but not for anything you wouldn’t want read if it were posted to the Internet.

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