Scanny, a freemium app for iPhone, uses the built-in camera to capture the printed word and then performs OCR to turn the image into editable text.

The OCR engine is actually part of the app, a spokesperson for the developer told iTWire, so - unlike Siri, for instance - it can be used with or without a data connection.

Scanned texts may be stored as PDF, PNG or plain text files.

Individual pieces of text can be easily transferred to other apps, and saved files can be uploaded to services such as Dropbox and Evernote.

The free version of Scanny is perhaps best regarded as a demo, as it watermarks PDF and PNG files, restricts the use of OCR, and limits the number of digits when sharing via SMS or email.

But once you're happy with its operation, the paid version removes these limits and only costs 99c.