Lots of folks have LOTS of questions about ShopSavvy.  We decided to create a few help screens to help.  These are the draft screens.  What do you think?

You have two weeks before Android 1.6 starts appearing on devices.  Get busy, because your app might not work anymore.  Google has officially launched Android 1.6 SDK, and the major impact for Android Market application developer is the Various Screen Resolution and Density Support. The latest SDK provides the support for different screen size, such as QVGA resolution. Therefore, we strongly recommend you to re-compile your application to become compatible with Android 1.6. Currently existing Google phones are all HVGA resolution devices (like T-Mobile G1, HTC Hero, Moto DEXT, and Samsung i7500 etc.), and most of applications will encounter some problems or difficulty when installing to the device with smaller screen.

For more information, please visit Google website at:

• SDK download site: http://developer.android.com/sdk/1.6_r1/index.html
• Android 1.6 highlights: http://developer.android.com/sdk/android-1.6-highlights.html
• Android 1.6 highlights video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBRFkLKRwFw
• Release Notes: http://developer..android.com/sdk/android-1.6.html
• Android developer’s blog: http://android-developers.blogspot.com/2009/09/android-16-sdk-is-here.html

When we began building the Windows Mobile version of ShopSavvy we didn’t know much about Bing’s map capabilities.  After digging in we are very excited about the opportunity to incorporate Bing’s Maps Wed Service into ShopSavvy for Windows Mobile.  Learn more about Bing for Mobile at Microsoft Developer Network here.  Should you look at Bing for your mobile application?  My advice, if you are building a Windows Mobile App it really is the best solution.

How about a little taste of what ShopSavvy looks like on Windows Mobile?  Here are some screenshots, enjoy:

We have been given a short reprieve to come up with a better icon, and icon even Apple could love, for ShopSavvy.  Most of you know that ShopSavvy is about to be released on the iPhone, but most of you don’t know that our icon for the iPhone version SUCKS.  It is actually really sad.  We need help from the design community.  Oh, and we don’t have much time.  You don’t want to see what we are going to end up with if you can’t help.  Help us! Please help! (call Alexander Muse 1+214-550-2003 or @amuse on Twitter)

ShopSavvy is:

• barcode scanner
• price comparison application
• shopping buddy

Icon idea: include a barcode in the icon.
Idea problem: barcodes are designed to look generic. barcodes are made up of very thin lines.
Solution: idealize a barcode with fewer, bolder lines.

Icon idea: include a shopping cart in the icon.
Idea problem: we are sort of a shopping app, more of a comparison app.
Solution: put a shopping cart on the icon anyway.

Icon idea: include a ‘scanner’ in the icon.
Idea problem: scanner might be confusing, look lame.
Solution: make it look cool.

Here are some prior projects (they include the Android version too):

T-Mobile, our ShopSavvy partner in the UK, is merging with Orange to create a ‘mobile phone giant with 28.4 million customers‘ according to the BBC.

Who will win?  ShopSavvy for the iPhone should be in the market any time now.  We began working on ShopSavvy for Windows Mobile when the iPhone version was substantially complete.  There is a chance that the Windows Mobile version of ShopSavvy may be available BEFORE the iPhone – ouch.  Initially, ShopSavvy will be available in Microsoft’s mobile market for 6.5.  Eventually, it will be available for 6.1 – 7.0 Windows Mobile devices.  Check out Rylan doing some testing on an actual device:

Great news for all of you Sprint users – you can get an amazing phone on October 11th.  Android will finally be on CDMA!  Sprint will be the first American carrier to launch the HERO – an amazing device from HTC.  It offers a reskin of the Android OS you saw on the MyTouch and G1.  The Hero has been available in Europe for a few months – we are pumped it will be available in the US and excited to have a new partner – Sprint!  Sprint announced that beginning on Oct. 11, customers will be able to purchase HTC Hero through all Sprint retail channels including Web (www.sprint.com), Telesales (1-800-SPRINT1) and their national retail partner Best Buy for $179.99 (excluding taxes) after a $50 instant savings and a $100 mail-in rebate with a two-year service agreement. Pre-registration begins today at www.sprint.com/hero.

I woke up this morning to some disturbing news – there are people who are poisoning UPC/EAN databases with racist messages.  We are working closely with GS1 to create standards for UPC/EAN product codes that will prevent malicious people from poisoning databases like Amazon and Google Base in the future, but today there is no good solution.  We have talked about UPC SPAM before, we are now adding the phrase: UPC Poison.  Why?  One of our users (perhaps former user) scanned a package of candy with the following UPC: 014200535460.  The description she saw on ShopSavvy was ‘sugar babies you nigger’.  She was livid and sent us the following message:

“IT WAS A BOX OF SUGAR BABIES CANDY, BY TOOTSIE ROLL INDUSTRIES, INC. CHICSGO, IL  60629,   WHEN I SCANNED WITH MY CELL PHONE BY USING THE SCAN BARCODE METHOD, THE RESULTS I GOT WAS “SUGAR BABIES YOU NIGGER”,  AND NO IT DIDN’T GIVE ME A PRICE, IT GAVE ME THAT VERY RACIST MESSAGE.  THIS WAS VERY DISTURBING TO ME, NOT THAT FACT THAT I AM A BLACK WOMAN, BUT THE FACT THAT THIS IS VERY RACIST, I DON’T KNOW WHO INPUTS YOUR INFORMATION ON SHOP SAVVY, OR WHAT, I NEED SOME ANSWERS, I THINK THE WORLD NEEDS TO KNOW ABOUT THIS, BECAUSE IN 2009, I WOULD HAVE NEVER THOUGHT ANYTHING LIKE THIS WOULD HAPPEN, I HAVE NEVER BEEN CALLED A NIGGER IN MY 45 YEARS OF LIVING, AND TO SEE SOMETHING LIKE THIS JUST TOOK ME BACK TO MY ANCESTORS AND WHAT THEY HAD TO ENDURE………..”

ShopSavvy is a lot like Google.  Instead of entering search terms you enter a UPC and we search LOTS of retailers to see who has the item in question.  We simply display what they show.  Three different sources had this description: UPC Database, Open EAN/GTIN and UPCMachine.  We contacted all three sources and they all agreed to remove the item from their systems.  We also had a conversation internally to decide whether or not we should start filtering terms from our system.  We looked at the specific term ‘nigger’ and while there are hundreds of legitimate items with the word in the title we have decided to filter any result with the word.  This will require a little coding.  In the meantime, the specific issue cited by our user has been resolved.

We kept the user in the loop throughout the day as everything unfolded.  Sadly, we couldn’t win the heart and mind of our user through our action or the action from the database providers.  When it was all said and done she emailed us, “the damage has been done, I may forward all emails to my local news and radio stations, so they can alert the public to this nonsense…..”  I copied the folks at GS1 to help them understand how badly the industry needs a standard for UPC authority. They responded and I am confident that issues like this will soon be behind all of us.  In the meantime, if you are the victim of UPC SPAM or Poison – accept our apology on behalf of every pervert and racist who has time to poison UPC/EAN databases. 

The iPhone version of ShopSavvy is quite a bit different from the Android version.  Here are a few screen shots: