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Two cool new apps for iPhone 3GS owners only: Layar and Cardreader

For those who don’t have the latest and greatest in iPhone hardware, you might want to avert your eyes.  Today, two great apps came out for the iPhone – 3GS-only.  One is an Augmented reality app that was previously only for Android, the other turns your iPhone 3GS into a business cardscanner. Read on for more.

First up is Layar ($FREE – iTunes link), the Augmented Reality program we profiled when it was for Android only.  It needs the compass of the 3GS to navigate the Augmented reality world created with the iPhone’s camera.  It enters the App Store alongside other augmented reality apps that have been introduced over the past months.

Cardreader, which is $7.99 at the App Store, turns your iPhone 3GS into a business card scanner.  With the Autofocus camera, you can take a picture of a business card, the software then scans the picture, runs OCR software on it, and inputs the information into your contacts list (awesome!).  It even saves the business cards as images and creates a coverflow like interface for browsing the cards (below).

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