Thank you for downloading the first ShopSavvy version for iPhone – version 1.0. Our current release was sent to 100 beta testers, many of whom provided VERY detailed feedback that made it clear that our barcode scanning feature could use improvement. First, we didn’t provide any sort of scanning hints – i.e. guides, arrows or pointers. Second, our scanning technology supports both legacy non-AF camera such as the ones found on the G2 and G3 as well as the newer AF camera found on the 3GS. We are going to submit a new version on Tuesday that should help resolve many of the scanning issues by including scanning hints and a different library for the AF cameras found on 3GS. In the meantime, I figured it might be smart to explain how to scan a barcode using ShopSavvy Version 1.0:
Light. The most important thing is to scan in a well lit area. Most of the time we find that scanning problems are related to low light. Make sure there is plenty of light.
Hold it Still. Try not to shake. Try to hold at least one of the items perfectly still. This is especially true on the 3GS because you need focus to scan. (the update should reduce this problem because it will be 90% faster)
Glare. Of course in well lit areas there is often glare caused by bright overhead lights. This is especially true on high gloss items. Make sure the glare is not over the black lines of the barcode.
Shadows. Just as glare hides the barcode from our view, shadows can prevent ShopSavvy from scanning your barcode. Make sure there are no shadows over the barcode.
Alignment. Try to hold the item at the same angle you are holding the phone. The more angle between the barcode and the phone the longer a scan will take.
Double Barcodes. Sometimes, expecially on books, there are two barcodes next to each other. Often the UPC is the bigger barcode on the left and the smaller barcode on the right is the ‘suggested retail price code’. If you include both on the screen ShopSavvy can get confused. Try to ONLY include the bigger UPC barcode. (the update will mitigate this issue by filtering out the small barcode)
Proximity. Try holding the scanner pretty far away and SLOWLY move closer until the item scans. Once you get the hang of the right distance you won’t need to do this, just hold it at the approximate distance and you should be good to go. But don’t move in and out – try to keep the item at a single distance for a period of time, maybe a second or two. (the update will provide hints to make this easier)
Item Selection. Don’t try to scan food items. First, they don’t have great coverage and at the end of the day price comparison isn’t important on bottled water. Second, the barcodes are often on curved surfaces and ShopSavvy has problems with curves. (the update will work better on curved surfaces)
Focus (3GS). Since you have an auto-focus camera the barcode MUST be in focus. (the update will make this easier)
Focus (2G/3G). Since you have don’t have a focusable camera – don’t worry that the camera is out
Barcode scanning on the iPhone and Android can be a powerful tool for advertisers. We sell “UPC-GPS Intent Pairs” to retailers, brands and advertisers. What is a UPC-GPS Intent Pair? The basic concept is that we know two things about each scan activity: a) the location of the scan (i.e. which store) and b) the item that was scanned. 91% of the time ShopSavvy users are standing in a retailer store holding the product they are interested in. How much would it be worth to buy that activity filtered by an advertisers requirements? Hopefully a bunch. Here are a few ad units available (email sales@biggu.com for more information):
traditional footer banner advertisement (Android only at this time)
Using UPC-GPS Intent Pairs we can help retailers present relevant offers to the right people at the right time. Want to target consumer electronic shoppers in your competitors stores? When they scan an item you also offer, why not offer them a rebate for buying that product in your store within 24 hours? Just purchase one of our ‘include deal as interstitial’ and you can start converting sales from your competitors.
Barcode scanning on the iPhone and Android is changing the face of retail. Now that ShopSavvy is available for the iPhone and Android more and more retailers and price comparison websites want to know how to get their inventory and pricing included in our results. There are a few options.
Option One (best for small/regional retailers):
The easiest option is to include your items in Google Base. Be sure to include location, UPC/EAN information for each product and store phone number. You can manually update Google Base or automate the update by using an FTP site. Learn more about Google Base here. The upside to Google Base is twofold: a) your products will show up in ShopSavvy immediately and b) other price comparison applications will be able to use your data as well. The downside is that a) we won’t be able to show inventory (very important for local retailers) and b) we won’t share usage data.
Option Two (best for national retailers):
The BEST option is to provide us with a private or public API. If you have an existing API just email sales@biggu.com and provide details on how we can consumer the API. If you don’t have an existing API we can help you build one (assuming you are a national retailer). The key is to ensure that you API allows us to determine location, price and inventory status (unknown, in-stock, out-of-stock). Turnaround time for API inclusion is less than 30 days. Don’t have an API? A standard specification can be found here.
Option Three:
The least favorable option is to provide us with a product feed or a file upload. If you are a national retailer we will work with you to accept your file or feed. Email sales@biggu.com and we will begin working with you. The turnaround time for file or feed inclusion is between 30 and 90 days.
If you are writing a story about ShopSavvy for the iPhone – THANK YOU! We really appreciate any sort of coverage we can get. I put together these resources that might help:
ShopSavvy is now available for the iPhone. Released more than a year ago on Android, ShopSavvy is the market’s leading price comparison barcode scanning application. Scan any barcode and ShopSavvy will provide inventory and pricing information from more than 20,000 online and local retailers.
Application Name: ShopSavvy
Company: Big in Japan Inc.
Couple of notes. First, the icon is a bit munged up, but we aren’t going to complain (we will fix next release). Second, we have a BIG improvement coming in a week or so relative to scanning. Once you know how to scan with ShopSavvy for the iPhone it works great, but until you do it is a little hard. Our beta testers (thanks for your help) came up with a bunch of ideas that will make it MUCH easier to scan and we should implement those in the next couple of weeks. Look for an update every two weeks (I know this is annoying, but we promise the updates will be worth it). In the meantime, enjoy. Oh and thanks to Apple for all their support! You guys rock.
When the Droid launched I couldn’t get ShopSavvy to scan a barcode on the device. We worked all weekend on a fix. We improved the situation, but our fix wasn’t perfect. We were certain there was an issue with the auto-focus software on the Droid. Motorola hinted at a fix to be released sometime in December. Last night my phone rebooted all by itself and when we tried to scan a few hard to scan barcodes it worked flawlessly. It seems as though Verizon did a ‘stealth’ OTA update on the AF last night. Thanks Verizon, ShopSavvy is 100% on the device!
ShopSavvy is available in more and more countries. Early today we were asked for a complete list and I thought it I would list them here too:
Argentina
Australia
Austria
Belgium
Brazil
Bulgaria
Canada
Croatia
Czech Republic
Denmark
Estonia
Finland
France
Germany
Greece
Hong Kong
Hungary
India
Ireland
Israel
Italy
Japan
Kazakhstan
Latvia
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Mexico
Netherlands
New Zealand
Norway
Philippines
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Russia
Serbia
Singapore
Slovakia
Slovenia
South Africa
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Taiwan
Thailand
United Kingdom
United States
Bloomberg is reporting Motorola sold 100,000 Droid phones last weekend. According to Motorola, Verizon will sell more than 1 million Android devices this quarter and more than 10 million next year. Wow.
Our friends at Motorola made an awesome phone, but ShopSavvy was having issues with the camera. Rylan spent this weekend fixing it. Motorola promises a camera firmware update shortly (the camera doesn’t take the best photos right now) and it should make ShopSavvy work even better. We still plan to port ‘meatloaf’ (our blurry barcode scanning library) to Android in order to support ALL cameras that manufacturers might release. In the meantime, enjoy ShopSavvy on your droid – I am!
We spent hundreds of man-hours developing a barcode scanner that would work on almost any smartphone camera – fixed focal length or variable focal length – iPhone, Android, Windows Mobile or RIM. It occurred to us (after receiving hundreds of phone calls and emails) that developers might want to use our technology for their own apps. There are a few other companies that license their barcode scanning technology, but they usually want a cut of the sales of a developers application in the app store (typically 10%). We had a different idea. What if we licensed our barcode scanning technology (including performance updates) for FREE? Our plan is to allow developers to keep 100% of their app store revenue (either on iPhone or Android). What is the catch? We want to help you publish your app!
Developers who license our barcode scanning technology for their application would agree to allow our company, Big in Japan Inc., to publish their application in either the Apple App Store or the Android Market. Our publishing agreements assume we can drive significant non-app store revenue and as a result we only make money if we help you make MORE money. Specifically we retain 50% of all of the non-app store revenue we generate for the developer. We will help the developer make more money!
As part of our publishing agreement, our team would help the developer identify advertisers and sponsors, negotiate advertising revenue agreements, identify and negotiate alternative sources of revenue, identify distribution partners and negotiate distribution agreements. Additionally, we can help the developer apply for trademark and copyright protection, patent protection, find beta testers and provide access to real world, on staff, developers with experience with Android, iPhone, RIM and Windows Mobile. Learn more about our publishing model here.
Interested? Just send us your email address and an explanation of your app and we will forward you the license and publishing agreement. Send to sales@biggu.com.
Thank you for downloading the first ShopSavvy version for iPhone – version 1.0. Our current release was sent to 100 beta testers, many of whom provided VERY detailed feedback that made it clear that our barcode scanning feature could use improvement. First, we didn’t provide any sort of scanning hints – i.e. guides, arrows or pointers. Second, our scanning technology supports both legacy non-AF camera such as the ones found on the G2 and G3 as well as the newer AF camera found on the 3GS. We are going to submit a new version on Tuesday that should help resolve many of the scanning issues by including scanning hints and a different library for the AF cameras found on 3GS. In the meantime, I figured it might be smart to explain how to scan a barcode using ShopSavvy Version 1.0:
We spent hundreds of man-hours developing a barcode scanner that would work on almost any smartphone camera – fixed focal length or variable focal length – iPhone, Android, Windows Mobile or RIM. It occurred to us (after receiving hundreds of phone calls and emails) that developers might want to use our technology for their own apps. There are a few other companies that license their barcode scanning technology, but they usually want a cut of the sales of a developers application in the app store (typically 10%). We had a different idea. What if we licensed our barcode scanning technology (including performance updates) for FREE? Our plan is to allow developers to keep 100% of their app store revenue (either on iPhone or Android). What is the catch? We want to help you publish your app!