Ever wonder what Irish ShopSavvy users are scanning in liquor stores? Evidently one of the retail partners we are working with in Ireland asked Philip the question so we thought we would share the results. Here are the Top 20 Alcohol Scans in Ireland:

1 Jack Daniels 70cl
2 Blossom Hill White Zinfandel
3 Eristoff Original 70cl
4 Southern Comfort 70cl ???
5 Moet & Chandon NV
6 Baileys 70cl
7 Bacardi Superior 70cl
8 Jameson 70cl
9 Jagermeister 70cl
10 Concha y Toro Cas Diablo Cab S
11 Desperados 33cl Btl
12 Bombay Sapphire Gin 70cl
13 Absolut 1ltr
14 Veuve Clicquot Brut NV
15 Drambuie 70cl
16 Bollinger Special Cuvee
17 Tia Maria 70cl
18 Malibu 70cl
19 Gallo White Grenache
20 Smirnoff Ice 27.5cl Btl

So it blew me away to learn that the fourth most popular scan is Southern Comfort. Really? Southern Comfort in Ireland?

If you were like me you would have asked why Microsoft was bothering to build yet another smartphone operating system (aka Windows Phone 7) to compete with blockbuster hits like the iPhone and Android. If you worked on WinMo 6.5 you might be even MORE jaded. But I want to suggest that, in the end, it won’t be the operating system that is relevant it will be the apps. It is ALL about the apps now. If developers embrace a platform and great apps emerge an operating system will succeed. After seeing our own team’s work on the Windows Phone 7 version of ShopSavvy and other developers work I am more and more bullish about the platform. Microsoft really has a shot at making something really great. Check out a video of the USGA app:

There are almost a hundred thousand apps that shouldn’t be in Apple’s iTunes App store. They look a lot more like SPAM than apps and we all have seen them (30 apps with almost the same logo with slightly different names are just SPAM). I have a solution for Apple (and all other app stores): charge a yearly maintenance fee to keep an app in iTunes. Right now Apple charges developers $99 to have a developers account, but there is no limit or cost for adding apps. I propose a low $99/app/year fee to keep an individual app in the market.

Wondering what ShopSavvy will look like with full ‘Metro’ styling? Wonder no more. If you want to get on the wait list for the Beta (or just get notified when it is available) sign up here. See all of the screenshots on Flickr:

Jaime, one of the Gamerator guys, sent me an update on our unit today. If you missed my post last week, we are getting a Gamerator (Kegerator + Video Game) for our office. They are still working on the joystick and keg system, but it is almost done. They should be able to ship on August 17th (whohooo!). Here are some pictures of our unit under construction: