Bob LeVitus How can you not love an iPhone app that costs less than $2 but can save you a lot more than that every time you use it? That app is called RedLaser and it uses your iPhone camera to scan barcodes and get you prices for the item from Google Product Search and TheFind.
Here's what the app looks like when it's scanning a barcode:
Assuming it can find the item in one of its two data sources (Google and TheFind), within a few seconds you'll see a screen that looks something like this:
Here's how it worked: The other day I was looking at this cool new Samsung camera with two LCD displays -- one on the front and another on the back -- at Wolf Camera. It was priced at $349.99 and I was seriously considering buying one when I remembered RedLaser. So I gave it a shot and as you can see in the picture above, found that it was available online for as little as $279.95 -- which would save me as much as $70! Or, if I absolutely and positively had to have it right now, there was a Best Buy less than 4 miles away selling the camera for $332.49 -- which would save me $17.50! Either way -- online or brick and mortar -- I would save a few bucks by buying the camera elsewhere. Needless to say that's just what I did (and, for what it's worth, the camera is pretty freaking' cool).
I have to admit that it doesn't always find me such great deals, like the Snuggies blanket shown in the image below, for example.
As you see, the savings were modest at best.
Furthermore, it couldn't find some items at all but it did find almost every item that cost more than $20 or $25. In other words, I found it quite a bit more effective with bigger-ticket items than commodities.
That said, it's worked more often than not, usually found a better price, and frequently found prices that were much lower than the store where I scanned the item. Here are just a few items that RedLaser was able to identify and find low prices for:
The Bottom Line
The iPhone makes it relatively easy to comparison shop using Safari or other apps, but RedLaser makes it faster and easier than any app I've ever seen. RedLaser has become one of my most-used iPhone apps and has earned a permanent place on my iPhone's first page.
6 Observer Comments
All nice ideas. But I think RedLaser is a great start, especially for a two dollar app. As for licensing their libraries, my understanding is that’s one of the things the company is pursuing and that RedLaser was simply a proof-of-concept. Watch for more cool barcode-reading apps from Occipital and others.
By the way, I just discovered that there is a “back door” way you can have RedLaser search for barcodes on any Web site you like (see: http://www.redlaser.com/apps for details).
These guys are just getting started. Check out their blog for details of where they came from and how they got from there to here: http://occipital.com/blog/
I, for one, can’t wait to see what they do next.
That Amazon custom app is awesome. RIght to the correct entry in the Amazon app.
I hate to pee on the party, but watch for stores to start banning use of apps like this. Soon.
The big-boxes in particular don’t like being price-shopped, nor do they like the notion of anything even slightly slowing down product flow (such as customers fiddling with product to get a snapshot of the UPC).
You heard it here first.
Actually (and more likely) the stores won’t “ban” the app.
What they WILL do is stick a sales associate onto someone who’s clearly using RedLaser (the “May I help you?” and then follow you around, the way they do with suspected shoplifters).
Again, you heard it here first.
If you want to try the barcode thing for free, there’s also Stripey Lines.
Recent Headlines - Updated February 12th
- Sat, 4:11 PM
- MacOS KenDensed - MacOS KenDensed: iPad 3 Frenzy, Big-time Apple & Steve Jobs, G-Man
- Fri, 8:10 PM
- News - Apple Sues Motorola Mobility in California Over German Case
- 7:54 PM
- Free on iTunes - OnLive Desktop: Windows & Office on Your iPad
- 7:43 PM
- Product News - Apple Rolls Out MacBook Air Configurations for Education
- 6:35 PM
- Just a Peek - Battle Pocket Bulge With The Hint for iPhone
- 6:01 PM
- Rumor - Apple Reportedly Bringing MacBook Air Styling to Pro Line
- 4:50 PM
- Particle Debris - The Hidden Gotchas of Browser Security
- 3:56 PM
- Apple Stock Watch - Analyst: Paying a Dividend Makes Sense for Apple
- 2:58 PM
- Deal Brothers - iMac 27-inch 2.93GHz Intel Quad-Core i7 processor: $1,999
- 2:45 PM
- In-Depth Review - Theodolite App for iOS is Breathtaking
- 12:52 PM
- Apple Stock Watch - Mizuho Securities Starts Apple Coverage with $635 Target
- 11:35 AM
- Hot Forum Topic - Forum Poll: Are You Planning on Buying a New iPad?
The Mac Observer Reader Specials
TypeStyler 11 is now in the Mac App Store!! -- Special Introductory Price of $59.95!! -- To Buy From The Mac App Store Click Here Now!! Or buy direct
from Strider Software.
Mac RAM Upgrades: MacBook Pro 16GB kits $475, 8GB Kits for $119.99! iMac 16GB RAM Kits (4x 4GB) for $229.99! Mac Pro Memory 32GB Kit for $399.99, 64GB Kit for $889.99! Mac Hard Drives 2TB Seagate SATA II for $249.99! Click Here!
-
If you're using a Mac, then you've gotta check out Online Poker Mac.
This mac poker and online casino mac site
actually does the unthinkable, it actually rewards! -
-
-
-
-
-
Loading...
11” MacBook Air 1.6GHz dual-core Intel Core i5: $999.00 Delivered
NewEgg: $8 off on ZyXEL ES105S 5-Port 10/100 Desktop Fast Ethernet Switch for $11.99 plus Free Shipp
Whoa there cowboy. The thrill of bargain hunting is, um, amazing I guess, but for me this app is a big pile of unfulfilled potential.
This app’s bar code reader *is* insanely great, surpassing my every expectation in terms of how quickly and accurately it reads barcodes in all kinds of lighting situations even when held with an unsteady hand. BUT… all it does is search the web for prices of items I scan? Talk about a disappointment. When I think of how I would use a barcode scanner, price comparison just isn’t near the top of my list. I want an awesome scanner that can:
* Look up nutrition info and track my calories, etc. through the day.
* Inventory my book and movie collections and track loaned items
* Help me make shopping lists
* Show me reviews of items so I can make a better decision about which item to buy.
Apps exist for these purposes and I believe there’s even a nutrition one with a barcode scanner, I just doubt it’s this good.
One massive yet simple improvement RedLaser could make would be to let me copy the scanned code into the clipboard so I could use it in another app. Or what about configuring it to automatically launch another app after scanning and copying to the clipboard? (OK, that may not be possible with the APIs currently available to developers.)
Anyway, I hope this caliber of scanning makes it into other apps that do things other than just Google the scanned code. Perhaps RedLaser could license their libraries for inclusion elsewhere.