Felix posted this in the HTC EVO Forums and I thought it would be helpful to ShopSavvy users.

ShopSavvy:

Under Android market menu, you will see an app called “ShopSavvy”. This application does what it says, it scans bar codes. Any items with a barcode can be scanned, and the phone will generate a price. But, that is not the only purpose the barcode scanner serves for! It can also read URL’s!!

The Basics:

I see a lot of people in this forum referring others to download applications in the marketplace. People then have to get their phone, head over to the marketplace, and search for that specific application. When it comes to custom wallpapers, users have to download the wallpaper from the forum, sync the phone to the computer, and then set the wallpaper up. Well, you don’t have to go trough that hassle anymore! I’ll show what you can do so your phone can take you directly to the URL by scanning picture code called “QR-Code”

QR-Code:

A QR Code (“Quick Response”) is a 2D barcode that can store much more information than a standard UPC.  Inside a QR Code you can find text, hyperlinks, contact information, geo location, and more.  They are capable of storing up to 250 characters.  QR Codes have become common in Japan, but have yet to take off in the United States. (Source Wikipedia).  Basically what this means is that the barcode scanner integrated in the 4G is capable of reading a coded picture that will tell the phone to follow a set of instructions.

How to create a QR-Code:

No one is able to create a QR-Code on their own. They are all computer generated.

A good QR-Code generator website: http://qrcode.kaywa.com/

How to use this generator:

*The content type: ALWAYS use the URL selection
*The content tab: This is where you will type or paste the URL of where ever you want the phone to be directed to.

*** IMPORTANT NOTE *** – If you are referring  a user to download an app from the market place this will be the url: market.android.com/search?q=<substring>  (where substring will be replace with the name of the application you are trying to refer)

Ex. A member advices another user that “Pandora” is a good radio program. What the member has to do is replace the <substring> with the word Pandora, and yes, it has to be spelled correctly with proper spaces. The url will look like this

market.android.com/search?q=<Pandora>

* Size – ALWAYS  S for SMALL
* Generate – Hit the Generate button to generate the QR-Code

The Result:

This is what you will get:

Using the ShopSavvy Application:

Pull up your application menu and select “ShopSavvy” Once the program is open, hold your phone horizontally and aim the barcode scanner light to the picture on the computer screen. You will see that the barcode scanner will begin reading the QR-Code with green polka dots. After the reading is done, you will see 3 options generate : Open Browser, Share via Email, Share via SMS. Select Open Browser and you will see that I will take you directly to the market place, with Pandora information ready to download. Pretty neat right!

How Custom Wallpapers Can Play A Role:

Yep, I know some people dont like the downloading and then attaching phone to the computer, and sync. Well now the user who created the custom wallpaper can use this method to provide the member with the exact URL to generate the picture right onto his EVO using QR-Code.

Example:
Ryu78 requested svargas05 to develop a custom wallpaper using a canon camera as a logo. Well svargas05 went ahead and uploaded to the forums, and I guess Ryu78 had to download it and sync lol im not sure. But now svargas05 can refer to this method so Ryu78 can get the direct download right of from his phone! (Hope I didnt make it confuse on this part lol)

Here is the QR-Code for the wallpaper svargas05 created for Ryu78

Get ShopSavvy and give it a try Ryu78!

Our longtime Android partner (T-Mobile featured ShopSavvy when they launched the first Android phone in 2008), T-Mobile is going 4G (HSPA+) in 15 cities including: Los Angeles; Dallas; Atlanta; Houston; Seattle; Tampa and Orlando, Fla.; Pittsburgh, Penn.; Charlotte, Greensboro, and Winston-Salem, N.C.; Oklahoma City and Tulsa, Okla.; New Orleans, La..; Charleston, SC, Bentonville, Ark.; Anderson, S.C.; Fayetteville, N.C.; New York, Philadelphia, Las Vegas, Memphis, Upstate New York, Connecticut, Providence, RI and the Washington, D.C. suburbs. FYI – T-Mobile isn’t allowed to call their network 4G, but it can be FASTER than networks allowed to call themselves 4G. Anyway, WTG TMO!

We have been trying to blog about each Android phone that we support, but thought it might make sense to include a complete list of Android smartphones we support today. All the phones listed support barcode scanning with ShopSavvy AND our developer SDK. This list is current as of June 15, 2010:

• Acer Liquid A1
• Acer Liquid E
• Acer Liquid Ferrari
• Bluelans Communication Sciphone N19
• Bluelans Communications Sciphone N21
• Dell Dell Mini3i
• Garmin Garinfone
• General Mobile DSTL1 Imaginary
• Highscreen PP5420
• HKC Pearl
• HKC Imobile v413
• HTC Desier
• HTC Dream
• T-Mobile G1
• Era G1
• HTC Hero
• HTC Droid
• HTC Eris
• T-Mobile G2
• Touch
• Droid Incredible
• HTC Legend
• HTC Magic
• HTC Sapphire
• T-Mobile myTouch 3G
• Docomo HT-03A
• HTC Tatto
• HTC Click
• HTC EVO 4G
• HTC Dragon
• HTC Passion
• Google Nexus One
• Slide
• T-Mobile Pulse
• Huawei U8220
• Huawei CHT8000
• Huawei U8230
• Lenovo Phone
• LG GW620 Eve
• LG GW620 Linkme
• LG GT540 Optimus
• LG GT540 Swift
• Motoral Quench
• Motorola CLIQ XT
• Motorola MB501
• Motorola Milestone
• Motorola i1
• Motorola Blackflip
• Motorola MB300
• Motorola Devour
• Moto MT710
• Moto XT720
• Moto XT800
• Motorola Dext
• Sirius Sky
• Samsung Behold II
• Samsung Galaxy
• Samsung Moment
• Samsung Galaxy A
• Samsung i5700
• Samsung Galaxy S
• Sony XPERIA X10

We get several emails each week asking if ShopSavvy supports LG’s ALLY (the Verizon device with a slide out keyboard). Yes, we support ALL LG devices including the ALLY. Our most current SDK release also supports barcode scanning using the camera in the ALLY. Enjoy!

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Acer has an Android smartphone? Yep. It is called the Acer beTouch 130 and runs Android 1.6. Our latest version of ShopSavvy and SDK will support scanning on the beTouch. You won’t catch me carrying this phone, but Blackberry users might like this device (it looks like Blackberry).

ATT has been a little slow releasing Android phones, but their pace is picking up. With the HTC Aria ATT has another solid Android device. It isn’t up to par with the EVO or Incredible, but according to Ginny Miles it is ‘an Elegant Android Phone’. Our latest version of ShopSavvy and our SDK support barcode scanning on the HTC Aria so be comforted that you will be able to save as much as Droid users do.

We began collecting email addresses from users who were interested in getting ShopSavvy on Windows Phone 7 and Blackberry. In fact, if you like, you can request a notification when either version of ShopSavvy is available (AND request to be included in the Beta period) here:

• ShopSavvy for Windows Phone 7 (Windows Mobile)
• ShopSavvy for Blackberry

Since we began accepting requests it has been interesting to note that Windows Phone requests have beaten out Blackberry requests two to one. This is despite the fact that Blackberry devices out number Windows Mobile devices more than two to one. That got me thinking, why don’t Blackberry users make more requests than WinMo users? I began asking every Blackberry user I meet, “What is your favorite app?” More often than not the Blackberry user won’t know what I am talking about. If they do know about Blackberry apps, and again this is a very small minority, they explain to me that they have very little memory capacity – most tell me email takes up all of the space on their phones. When I press the folks who don’t know about apps they have no idea how to get the app store on their phone. As RIM attempts to target a revamped Blackberry at iPhone users it will be interesting to see if our numbers trend differently.

If you are like you would love to show up to a presentation without anything in your hand – just a smartphone in your pocket. Imagine being able pull out your smartphone and project your presentation on the whiteboard. Very cool edge case. Samsung has the answer – the Galaxy Beam. Of course, you can always turn off the project and start scanning barcodes with ShopSavvy. Rock. Thomas Ricker has the details:

The Galaxy Beam (codename: Halo) with its 3.7-inch Super AMOLED display is now slated to hit Singapore in July. That means that the European and broader launch across Asia should be just around the corner if Samsung’s claims from Feburary hold true. At launch, the world’s first Android phone with a built-in DLP pico projector will be served version 2.1 of Google’s confectionary delight. Specwise, we’re talking 7.2Mbps HSPA data on 900/1900/2100MHz and quad-band GSM/EDGE, Bluetooth 3.0, 802.11n WiFi, an 8 megapixel autofocus camera with flash (front-facing VGA) and HD video recording, A-GPS, FM Radio, and an 1,800mAH battery. Memory is confusingly listed as “4Gb + 2Gb + 1Gb + 16Gb MoviNAND” made worse by no mention of microSD though it was definitely there when we went hands-on with Beam at Mobile World Congress. Specs after the break.

Heard about Verizon’s next big Android-based smartphone called X? It is a HUGE secret (NOT) that Engadget has a picture of on their site today (see above). Joanna Stern calls it a ‘mega-smartphone’ or Verizon’s answer to the HTC EVO 4G. Just as the EVO runs ShopSavvy, the Droid X will support ShopSavvy. Here are Joanna’s ‘takeaways:

• Hardware: From afar, the Droid X looks like the EVO 4G, but up close the differences are obvious. Its slightly longer and wider, and it has four physical buttons along the bottom of the screen rather than touch-sensitive ones like those on the EVO. In hand, the phone feels really solid and we were surprised at how light it felt, though we could really do without the hump on the back. And yes, the large thing fits in a jean pocket, but not without slightly bulging.

• Screen: Apparently the Droid X has a 4.4-inch, FWVGA 854 x 480-resolution screen, though we couldn’t confirm that on the device itself. Regardless, it was super crisp and the capacitive screen was mighty responsive to taps and multitouch gestures. Our one concern is the mirrored trim around the screen — it makes the whole face of the phone extra glossy.

• Motorola Blur / Android: We confirmed that the Droid X was running Android 2.1 with some new sort of Motoblur (perhaps Ninjablur) skin. We didn’t get to configure Blur with our social networks and contacts, but it didn’t seem as “in your face” as the original. There’s also a new navigation bar along the bottom that lets you easily jump to different Android panes. We can’t really make a call on how we feel about this new Moto skin, but it does feel like a major improvement and it absolutely didn’t slow down performance. We should also mention that preloaded on the phone was a Blockbuster application and a DLNA type app. Those two pieces combined with the fact that there will be a separate HDMI dock available has us thinking multimedia is the focus here.
• Camera / Camcorder: The Droid X has a 8-megapixel camera, and records 720p video. But here’s the thing about the camera: you have to tap to focus and it doesn’t refocus until you actually snap the picture. In addition, the camera button on the phone was super stiff, so when we went to shoot a pic the entire thing shook and blurred the image. You can see what we are talking about in the gallery below. As for video recording, it was a bit laggy while we were shooting at 720p, but the video plays back smoothly, and in our opinion, crisper than the EVO 4G. Nevertheless, as you can see in the clip below, the white balance keeps on changing and the exposure fluctuates.

Something struck me after I watched Steve Jobs stumble during his presentation at WWDC and it was reported that there were 500 personal wifi (or mifi) networks active in the presentation room: what will this mean for Skyhook (and Google’s competitive project)?

Skyhook and Google ‘listen’ for wifi network as they drive the streets of cities worldwide. They map these wifi networks and then applications like ShopSavvy use this data (much quicker than GPS) to determine where a users is located. Sure there have been minor problems before. For example, if someone located in the US sells his Wifi Router to someone in the UK AND assuming Skyhook mapped the wifi in say Houston – we think the users near that wifi signal are actually in Houston and not the UK (this has happened two or three times to our knowledge).

Now that millions of users will have their own personal wifi networks that move how will that impact wifi-based location services like Skyhook? I have ALWAYS thought Skyhook had a genius solution, but I never really considered how the owners of wifi networks might feel about a third-party building an entire business off of their infrastructure. Of course Skyhook isn’t building their business of of a single infrastructure – but millions of wifi access points. Perhaps it is time to really think about whether or not we want our wifi used by third parties to determine the location of their users. Maybe we could come up with a prefix on our networks – i.e. ‘okay use me, I stay put and oh by the way my lat/lon is x’ or ‘please don’t use me, I move around or I just don’t want to share my data with you’.

I, of course, would share my wifi with Google and Skyhook and let them know its exact lat/lon on my home wifi, but I would hope that my EVO and Sprint 4G card wouldn’t be mapped because I move them around with me. What do you think?