Filed under: iPhone, App Review
The Barcodescan Pro app helps you find the best price
Barcodescan Pro [iTunes Link] is an app that uses the autofocus camera of an iPhone running OS 3.1 or better to scan a bar code and provide a variety of information on the product including pictures, high and low prices and more depending upon how much information is in the Barcodescan database. To scan a barcode, you just hold the iPhone so that the barcode appears in a highlighted window and as soon as the image is steady enough, the app automatically takes a picture, compares it to its database, and renders your results. Another way of getting information into the app is typing in the numbers of the barcode into an oversized numeric keyboard.
I had it scan the CD of Tommy and it came back with a picture of the album cover, a prices line showing the lowest to highest found price which when tapped upon, showed the underlying five vendors, another tap gets you to the selected vendor's site to buy it. You can also choose a tab to get to Google for a standard search and another for Amazon where you can log-in and put it on your wish list or purchase the item. The vendors in the low to high price list never included Amazon, which I thought odd since Amazon was a persistent button on each search.
You can check If the item is found on iTunes. If so, you are presented with a contextual service option which brings in iTunes information. Instead of giving me one entry for the album of Tommy, it gave me many instances that contained the word Tommy.
Results are saved to lists. The Recent list shows the last thing you searched for, the History list shows everything you've searched for. You can create custom lists and easily move any searches between lists. Results can also be shared allowing you to email the search.
So, is it any good? Read on...
My mother used to tell me about the little girl with the little curl in the middle of her forehead. When she was good, she was very very good and when she was bad, she was horrid. That was the first thing I thought of when putting this app through its paces. Sometimes it worked fine and did everything as advertised, but those times were rare.
The first thing you have to get accustomed to is exactly how to hold the iPhone to get the app to snap a picture. After playing with making the image, smaller, larger, closer, farther, lighter, darker for about 15 minutes I started getting the hang of it. When it snapped a picture, any one of four things happened: it didn't understand the barcode and wanted input to expand its database, or it showed me the proper product, or it showed me the wrong product, or it gave me bits and pieces of information but not enough to be useful. Often when you tapped on the Google tab, it brought up Amazon results and vice versa.
Often it just didn't snap a picture at all. Many times I held the iPhone steady and the barcode I was scanning was clear as day, but the shutter just never went off. You can force a picture by clicking on the shutter, but in practice that never worked for me. No forced picture was ever recognized.
When it did work, it often didn't pull up a picture or description, but did pull up some links. When something was in iTunes and it pulled up a list of everything with title word in the name (pages of them sometimes), clicking on one always brought up an error message telling me that it couldn't connect to iTunes.
You can email yourself search results but not individually. Your only option is to share all which sends you results of everything in your history list. The resulting email heavy on advertising and light on information only providing the few mobile formatted links that were displayed in the app and since they are mobile formatted, aren't extremely useful when viewed on your computer, with the exception of a non-mobile formatted Google search link.
The database is too small for general use. In searching for a dozen items of audio, video and household products, it came up empty or wrong 5 times. Your results will be different I'm sure since I just scanned whatever was around.
I would love for this app to be everything it says it is, since similar apps like Cyclops just deal with Amazon.com while Barcodescan Pro can use a variety of sources depending upon how much information is in its database.
Barcodescan Pro, if dependable, could save me a bunch of money, but as it stands, I can't recommend it, either at the usual price of US $4.99 or the promotional price of US $0.99 that will go into effect on November 24th.
I really hope that this app gets worked over with eye toward fit and finish while increasing the database to cover many more products. If and when it does, it has the potential to become one of my most used and useful apps. But for now, I'd look elsewhere, like RedLaser for example.
Here are some screenshots of the app.
The first thing you have to get accustomed to is exactly how to hold the iPhone to get the app to snap a picture. After playing with making the image, smaller, larger, closer, farther, lighter, darker for about 15 minutes I started getting the hang of it. When it snapped a picture, any one of four things happened: it didn't understand the barcode and wanted input to expand its database, or it showed me the proper product, or it showed me the wrong product, or it gave me bits and pieces of information but not enough to be useful. Often when you tapped on the Google tab, it brought up Amazon results and vice versa.
Often it just didn't snap a picture at all. Many times I held the iPhone steady and the barcode I was scanning was clear as day, but the shutter just never went off. You can force a picture by clicking on the shutter, but in practice that never worked for me. No forced picture was ever recognized.
When it did work, it often didn't pull up a picture or description, but did pull up some links. When something was in iTunes and it pulled up a list of everything with title word in the name (pages of them sometimes), clicking on one always brought up an error message telling me that it couldn't connect to iTunes.
You can email yourself search results but not individually. Your only option is to share all which sends you results of everything in your history list. The resulting email heavy on advertising and light on information only providing the few mobile formatted links that were displayed in the app and since they are mobile formatted, aren't extremely useful when viewed on your computer, with the exception of a non-mobile formatted Google search link.
The database is too small for general use. In searching for a dozen items of audio, video and household products, it came up empty or wrong 5 times. Your results will be different I'm sure since I just scanned whatever was around.
I would love for this app to be everything it says it is, since similar apps like Cyclops just deal with Amazon.com while Barcodescan Pro can use a variety of sources depending upon how much information is in its database.
Barcodescan Pro, if dependable, could save me a bunch of money, but as it stands, I can't recommend it, either at the usual price of US $4.99 or the promotional price of US $0.99 that will go into effect on November 24th.
I really hope that this app gets worked over with eye toward fit and finish while increasing the database to cover many more products. If and when it does, it has the potential to become one of my most used and useful apps. But for now, I'd look elsewhere, like RedLaser for example.
Here are some screenshots of the app.
Gallery: Barcodescan Pro
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
wb said 10:03AM on 11-23-2009
There's a very similar app on Android.
http://www.androidtapp.com/barcode-scanner/
(Not intended to be spam, but I couldn't find another link.)
/recovering iphone user (down with AT&T!)
Reply
Sam Gross said 3:38PM on 11-23-2009
It just came out on the iPhone, I do quite like it. It, too, has problems with the autofocus, but it is free, and as you say, awesome.
CHRiS said 12:23PM on 11-23-2009
There are quite a few bar code scanners to choose from in the iTunes store. I've used redlaser, shop savvy and this one. So far (for me), redlaser is the best, as it seems to auto-scan the barcode the easiest/quickest. Of course shop savvy pulls local results, but not always from my testing --- only a few items I *KNEW* was at Target did it show local results for - most were online results.
Reply
Bert & Erny said 2:02PM on 11-23-2009
Redlaser is the only ONE that works and does one heck of a job, the others IHMO just plain old SUCK and do NOT work
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Sam Gross said 3:37PM on 11-23-2009
David, If I'm right, you were using an iPhone or a 3G for the review. Often the cameras on them don't work as well due to a lack of autofocus. The 3GS's camera works much better.
Reply
David Winograd said 3:59PM on 11-23-2009
Sam,
No, I was using an iPhone 3GS with autofocus.
David
Kento Ito said 5:34PM on 11-23-2009
For iPhone 3G users, you will need a magnifying glasses to do a close up focus of the barcode.
Reply
mark said 6:46PM on 11-23-2009
RedLaser.
Reply
Jewelthief said 3:27AM on 11-24-2009
I came to add my kudos to RedLaser... I have a 3G without auto-focus and my hands aren't very steady at all. Basically, though, if I get the little window lined up (a snap to do!) then RL reads it, no matter how fuzzy. I bought RL it because reviews for the freebie barcode scanner weren't very good. Save yourself the trouble and spend a couple of bucks. You won't be sorry. :)
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Brian G said 7:41AM on 11-24-2009
Oh how I wanted to like this type of product [ seems I bought another one ] but the down size is while I was out shopping for a wall calendar it gave me so many lower prices 'online' that I still don't have a calendar a month later. So be careful.
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davidalanmoore said 9:00AM on 11-26-2009
As of yesterday (Nov. 25, 2009), RedLaser posted an "update" that is powered exclusively by TheFind.com and, as a consequence, no longer provides search results from Amazon.com or Google search. While the addition of local, brick-and-mortar sources is nice, many former RedLaser users/purchasers bought the app because it provided comparisons to the prices of some of the largest online retailers.
So, buyer beware: the kudos for RedLaser given above were based in the new version. The support boards at RedLaser are already lighting up with complaints by users (including me) who are very upset that the system no longer provides results as advertised. (The user reviews in the App Store have not caught up -- my review, for example, has not yet posted.). The RedLaser screenshots on the iTunes store still show sample results from Amazon and Google, but the fine print says that it is "now powered exclusively by TheFind.com.". I purchased this app less than a week ago, and it has already been rendered worthless to me. Note: the technology (e.g., snapping a pic of the barcode) is still flawless, but what's the point if it doesn't return useful, meaningful search results?
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lens42 said 2:45AM on 11-27-2009
Thanks for this note. Without Amazon results I would not have purchased Redlaser. Now I know not to update the app.
lens42 said 3:04AM on 11-27-2009
I just sent this email to Redlaser:
Hello - I am a Redlaser customer. Let me add a vote to what I am sure is a torrent of complaints following your ill-conceived decision to remove Amazon and Google search results in favor of the garbage from the "The Find". You have completely ruined a previously useful application.
The only justification I can guess for this action is that you are grabbing a quick payoff from The Find and intend to run for the exits, caring nothing about the long term fortunes of your company. I suppose that is your prerogative.
regards - Len Sherman
davidalanmoore said 9:07AM on 11-26-2009
Sorry, in my comment above, the first sentence of the second paragraph should say that the earlier commenter's reviews of RedLaser were probably based on the OLD version (with Amazon and Google search), and not the new "updated" version (which is a bust, in my opinion).
That's what I get for typing a review on my iPhone! My thumbs aren't nearly as fast as my thoughts...
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