Mobile Barcode App for Holiday Shopping: Price Check by Amazon for Android

Now that Thanksgiving is here, it's time to get your holiday shopping in focus. It's the time of year that can make even the most prepared shopper feel a little nervous.

Time is short and that means you may be spending a lot of evenings and weekends browsing local stores, looking for the perfect present for friends and family. But with sale prices changing each week, it can be hard to get a handle on the best prices for the gifts you have in mind.

Why not put your smart phone to work sniffing out the best online prices so you can see whether a brick and mortar deal holds up?

A mobile bar code app for the Android operating system, Price Check by Amazon  is a Android barcode scanner that shows you exactly what that DVD or flat screen TV is going for.

Just scan the product bar code and see results in seconds. And Amazon will even show you the online sellers who are beating their price.

While plenty of retailers shudder when they see customers pull out a smart phone and start tapping away, you may as well gather as much information as possible before you pull the trigger on a purchase. And in some cases, the price difference may be negligible, so you can walk out of the store with another name checked off your list.

How do I get Price Check by Amazon?

Like other mobile apps, it takes less than a minute to download Price Check by Amazon from the Android Market on your smart phone. Once you have the Android barcode scanner installed, you may need to log in to your Amazon account to unlock the full functionality of the application.

How does the bar code shopping app work?

Tap the Price Check icon to open the android barcode scanner and you'll see a very simple interface. Amazon offers you four different ways to track down that shiny object.

(1) Type It. Enter all or part of a search term and you'll see what Amazon has available. If your search is fairly broad, the first screen gives you the opportunity to refine your search by a specific department (such as books, movies & TV, etc).

(2) Scan It. The Android barcode scanner is fully integrated within the mobile app and once you tap the scan button, you'll see the familiar red line with instructions reminding you to center the barcode between two orange arrows. There's also a note that bar codes scan better without shadows and excess glare on your phone's screen.

Clicking the help button from the scan screen offers some tips for better scanning and tells you that the Android barcode scanner supports 8 and 12 digit UPC's and 8 and 13 digit EAN's.

(3) Snap It. Just like it sounds, this option lets you take a quick picture of an item without a bar code. The message on the screen mentions that the function "works best in good light with a book, DV, CD, or video game.

(4) Say It. The voice recognition software seems quite robust, easily recognizing most commands.

Once you find a product, clicking on the listing takes you to a screen with the options of buying now, adding to cart, or adding to a wishlist. Click your choice and you'll need to log on with your Amazon username and password to complete the transaction.

You won't find a simpler or cleaner mobile Android barcode scanner that offers instant pricing wherever you are. And with the money you save, you might be able to squeeze out a little extra to buy yourself that gadget you've been yearning for.

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