It has been an amazing year for Android and the Android version of ShopSavvy.  Of course we owe a LOT to our partners including Google, T-Mobile, Sprint and Verizon.  Some of you have suggested we might be focusing too much on the iPhone version of ShopSavvy.  Sadly we HAVE been spending a little too much time on it.  We are still in our ‘beta’ phase on iPhone (our long term Android users will remember that we went through a ‘beta’ phase on Android too) – we should be stable and fast sometime in January.  In the meantime, I am pleased to announce that we haven’t been ignoring the Android version of ShopSavvy!  Say hello to ShopSavvy 3.6 for Android (available in market sometime today). Here are some of the changes in 3.6

• QR Code Support - supporting ALL QR codes including URL redirect, contact, phone number, sms, new app install AND Google’s Favorite Places Stickers
• Bug Fix - common Force Close Issue should be gone (other Android developers with same problem should email support@biggu.com to learn how to stop force close from happening when users update apps)
• Logo Clean Up – standardized on new ShopSavvy icon (sticker with curled edge, read more here)
• Internal UI polish – including use of new icons inside of ShopSavvy

Previously I have written about why we didn’t support QR codes.  Recently Google announced their Google Favorite Places program whereby Google mailed QR code window stickers to something like 190,000 local retailers.  These QR codes are tied to Google local search feature and allows the retailer to include coupons and special offers to users who scan the codes.  In light of this new feature and its connection to retail shopping we decided it was time to support QR code scanning.  ShopSavvy will now scan all 1D and 2D barcodes.  Try scanning the code to the right (it is my contact info) and feel free to let me know how you like the new changes in ShopSavvy for Android.  Oh and have a Happy New Year!

Update: Several of you have asked about QR code support in the iPhone version of ShopSavvy.  The quick answer it is coming.  The longer answer is that we don’t want to overcomplicate our release until we are out of our beta phase.  Scanning speeds need to improve significantly.  Additionally, it is much easier for us to include QR code scanning in phones that have auto-focus (i.e. 3GS) so it is likely that our first QR release will only support the 3GS and not legacy 3G/2G phones.  I would look for a QR code release 30 days after a stable/fast ShopSavvy release on the iPhone.  But fear not, we are moving in that direction (see picture).

.

The newest member of our team was showing off some of his coding chops the other day and showed off a new feature called “ShopSavvy Product Radar“.  Simply put, ShopSavvy Product Radar is a ‘third’ way to view local products in ShopSavvy.  Today if you scan a barcode of an item we show you local results in a list or map view.  With the list view you see a list of retailers who sell the item in question ordered by price.  With the map view you see a map of retailers ordered by distance from you.  In the new Radar view the user can hold his camera in space and see the various stores selling his product in augmented reality.  The following video and screenshots feature Best Buy (any retailer can include their icon in the view – email sales@biggu.com).

More pictures here.

Bruce emailed me earlier today and explained how he got ShopSavvy to work on the Samsung Behold 2.  Here is his explanation:

“Just thought I’d let you know that I now have ShopSavvy working well on my Behold 2. The inelegant solution was to place a small piece of electrical tape over the flash. I don’t take many photos, particularly ones requiring a flash, so it’s not a problem for me. If I need a flash I can always peel it off. With the flash covered up the auto focus works fine. One improvement would be a way to automatically use the macro mode on the camera to better focus on smaller barcodes.  I’m still looking forward to a solution from Samsung for the flash issue but this lets me use the app, as well as other scanners, in the meantime.”

Here is a picture of the fix:

Thanks Bruce! We are still hoping to get something from Samsung in the way of a OTA firmware fix.

The Muse family is sung as a bug in a rug at our house (the weather report says it will snow here in Dallas around lunch time).  We have the ShopSavvy map up on the plasma display in our living room.  The kids love watching live shopping going on around the world.  This morning we watched as shoppers were scanning items in Greece, Italy, Poland, Sweden, Denmark, Spain and the UK.  It wasn’t very long until the scans began showing up across the Atlantic from Vermont to Florida at first and then all the way to St. Louis.  Just now we began seeing heavy scan volume in Kansas and Texas.  What are people scanning?  Toys! Toys! Toys!  Lots of toy shopping!  The kids are loving it.

Another fun thing Ethan found was reviews for everyday items on ShopSavvy.  Ethan scanned a package of AA batteries and checked out the reviews.  I never thought to check the reviews on batteries, but leave it to an eight year old.  Anyway, I got a laugh out of the reviews (you might too).  Here are a couple of screenshots:

We have two more voting opportunities for ShopSavvy.  The first is for the Consumer Electronics Show Mobile App Showdown.  We were selected as a semi-finalist and part of the contest is based on internet voting.  You can vote 25 times for ShopSavvy so take a minute and click your mouse 25 times for ShopSavvy.  Here is the link to the CES Vote.

The next contest we need your help on is the O’ReillyApp Smackdown: Best App for Bargain Hunting.  We are head to head and you can only vote once.  So take a minute and vote for ShopSavvy here on O’Reilly’s Smackdown.

I am not a huge fan of these sort of internet voting contests, but we appreciate any and all PR.  The only thing better than getting nominated is actually winning once of these contests.  We appreciate your help.  Happy Holidays!

Got a note today that ShopSavvy was selected as a ‘Top 20 Mobile App‘ at CES 2010.  Fun stuff.

Lots of you ask, “Which retailers will price match?”  I found an interesting site that seems to answer this question for a number of retailers called Price Pinx.  Here are some of the retailers they follow:

Price Guarantee and Price Match Policies

[I first wrote about this on my blog and thought I would cross post here]

I was driving to Nacogodoches (network coverage is spotty at best on Highway 175) when I saw a Google alert for ShopSavvy (our barcode scanning price comparison application). One of my heroes, Tim O’Reilly, had written an article titled ‘Why Using ShopSavvy Might Not be So Savvy.” When I tried to click on the article to read it while driving down the road (I don’t recommend driving while reading, but I couldn’t resist) I went through a zone without AT&T Edge or 3G coverage (too bad I didn’t have my Verizon Droid). For the next 35 minutes I imagined what Tim had written – driving down the highway in East Texas waiting impatiently for my iPhone to switch from ‘Searching’ to Edge or 3G. When I finally got enough service to load his post I was surprised.

Tim wrote that ShopSavvy reminded him of “the fundamental shortsightedness of so many of our economic decisions, that flaw in human nature that makes us seize on temporary advantage without thinking of the long-term consequences.” He suggested that pursuit of the lowest price will ‘hasten the demise of many retailers’ and ultimately result in increased prices.

First, I think Tim’s premise is flawed. Eliminating mega-retailers won’t increase prices – the internet will make sure of that. Second, to suggest that applications like ShopSavvy are somehow to blame for the demise of mega-retailers is sort of silly. If mega-retailers are on the way out it won’t be the fault of applications written by a tiny company in Dallas, Texas. Why did Circuit City fail? Circuit City did not lose to the internet, it lost to Best Buy. Best Buy stores were better stocked, easier to navigate, staffed by employees who seem to care and often have great deals. For every purchase I make online I make four in a local retailer like Best Buy. If Tim is worried that ShopSavvy somehow takes away from mega-retailers I think he should realize that the real culprit is the internet itself.

The moment the internet was created retail shopping was forever changed. The internet made information about products and pricing available to anyone with a computer and more recently anyone with a smartphone. Savvy shoppers have been checking online retail prices from the very start (see Amazon.com). I wish Tim’s article had been titled, “Why using the internet to shop might not be so savvy.” Ironically ShopSavvy can provide a retailer with the ability to understand and respond to a shopper’s behavior. Shoppers who just use the internet are simply lost from the retailers perspective. I would argue applications like ShopSavvy might be the BEST thing to happen to local retail in a long time.

At the end of the day I don’t agree with Tim’s premise, but I could respect it more if it called out the real culprit. Tim explains that he rarely shops in physical stores, “I do most of my shopping online, and I love the convenience. But when I do go to local stores to browse physical products, I make sure to buy there, even if there’s a better price online. I’m paying a little extra for that right to walk up and touch the product before I buy it.”

I have a dirty little secret I would like to share with Tim: 100% of retail shoppers know that they can buy everything cheaper online. They don’t need ShopSavvy to explain this to them. ShopSavvy organizes information (reviews, pricing and inventory) about the products our users are interested in buying. Ironically, the most compelling part of ShopSavvy is how it helps users discover local prices and inventory. Our data shows that users spend 75% more time clicking on local prices than online prices. They want to know that the store next door sells the same item for less AND has it in inventory. If shoppers were to follow Tim’s advice they would be compelled to buy an item regardless of price. If I was a retailer and saw Tim coming into my store I would mark everything up 500% knowing he would pay the markup.

I suspect mega-retailers would prefer that Tim do more of his shopping in their stores even if he continued to buy most everything online. I don’t think they would be offended at all. If he shopped in Best Buy he might be surprised that Best Buy would match online retailers like Amazon.com. Mega-retailers like Walmart, Target and Best Buy all focus on price. They claim to have the best prices, they price match and they offer in-store deals all of the time. Some retailers like Nordstrom focus on service – I buy clothes at Nordstrom because they help me buy clothes – I do not buy clothes at Macy’s because they focus on price. Retail is changing – the internet started it. ShopSavvy won’t be the demise of retail. Anyway, thanks for the mention Tim (surely we will get a few more downloads because of it).

I just awoke to find a few great articles on ShopSavvy this morning.  The first article was from ABC News that described ShopSavvy as a “Lifestyle App That Makes Life Easier“.  Ki Heussner from ABC’s Gadget Guide described ShopSavvy as “An oldie-but-goodie,” suggesting, “ShopSavvy is a necessary application for every budget-conscious shopper.” Thanks for the mention Ki!

The next article was by Geoffrey Fowler and Yukari Kane from the Wall Street Journal titled, “Price Check: Finding Deals with a Phone“.  The article begins by describing how Erik Olson used ShopSavvy to scan the price of a Blu-ray DVD at Best Buy only to find it cheaper at Walmart.  Later in the article Ivory Johnson of Georgia explained, “ShopSavvy has changed my method of shopping.”  Ivory’s sister explained that his sister used ShopSavvy to get a $50 refund from a retailer after scanning the barcode on the Flip UltraHD camera she had previously bought.

Next, I read an article by Kent McNeil suggesting that ShopSavvy would help Ebay drive more than $500M in mobile-based revenue this year alone.  I can’t wait to see what we can do in 2010.  Kent specifically noted that ShopSavvy is one of two companies that are using PayPal’s open technology for payments (the other is Twitpay.me).  Kent’s piece was a followup on a USA Today article titled, “CEO tries to breath new life into eBay and PayPal.“  The article mentioned that ShopSavvy was part of eBay’s new strategy.

Finally lots of little mentions of the new release, specifically the iPhone Bible, MacMegasite, prMac,  reported that we had launched ShopSavvy v.1.1 for iPhone and Touch.