I’ve tried nearly every barcode scanning app for the Android phone, but I have a really cheap Android by Huawei that doesn’t have autofocus (my next Android will). I’m really glad to be able to get a cheap Android. I got it to use Cricket Wireless’ unlimited Android plan. No contract, unlimited use, one flat price makes me a committed Cricket client. But most barcode apps don’t work without autofocus – include RedLaser, ShopSavvy, and the rest.
Pic2Shop, on the other hand, just works, and it’s fast. Dim light, glare, shadow, and a distorted barcode can still affect its accuracy, but a standard barcode in plain light is lightening quick. Finally! I don’t shop much, but if I want to know what something is worth when I sell it, Pic2Shop is great.
For the other side of things – the actual shopping – I prefer the Google Shopper app or the Google Googles app (which is slower and stores photos locally, but has all kinds of uses beyond shopping). Google Shopper works with barcodes, but again the autofocus thing is necessary. Where it really shines is – forget the barcodes – just taking a photo of the item. I held up an Office Depot ad for a case of paper, and it found the same case of paper for almost half price, delivered. I held it to a book cover (instead of the bar code), and it found the book in a variety of formats, new and used, with prices. Googles gave me different useful results, and is also great for book covers.
In the midst of processing my book collection, these are handy tools.
Barcode experiment: success.
image by AppBrain