There are 75 apps that are using the ShopSavvy barcode scanner SDK without an executed license agreement. We have attempted to reach out to all of you, but it would seem some of you are hard to reach. Starting tomorrow we are going to disable the SDK for non-licensed use unless we hear from you. The interruption will last 2 hours and is merely an attempt to get your attention. If we haven’t heard from you by the 1st we will permanently disable the scanner. Just drop us an email and let us know the status of your license agreement.

Update: When we updated our SDK license we eliminated the ad-supported model in favor of the more popular ‘fee’ based models. This was a mistake, LOTS of folks like the free barcode scanner license model – we are adding BACK it as a fifth option.

Earlier this year we publicly released the barcode scanner SDK (ScannerKit) that powers ShopSavvy. We have hundreds of licensees including Consumer Reports, Walmart/Sam’s, FastMall and PriceGrabber. Our original license required that licensees include our AdOn ad framework in order to use the ScannerKit. Hundreds of you have requested an ad-free option and we decided we would change our licensing model to meet your needs.

I am pleased to announce we now have four ‘ad free’ options for licensees in addition to the ad-support model. Beginning today using the ad framework is 100% optional. General commercial licenses cost $5,000. Retailer licenses cost $5,000 and require the retailer to provide a product feed for use in ShopSavvy. Startups who have been in business less than a year and raised less than $250,000 can defer the $5,000 fee for 12 months. Finally, students and/or schools who want to license the SDK for non-commercial use can use the SDK at no cost. Here is a run down:

– Commercial Use: $5,000 upfront payment due prior to public release
- Retailer Use: $5,000 upfront payment + product/price/inventory data feed
- Startup Use: $5,000 payment deferred for 12 months
- Student/School Non-Commercial Use: No payment due (proof required)
- Ad-Supported: No cost as long as you include the Ad Framework for the life of the app

Licenses executed prior to December 13th, 2010 are still enforce and will be honored. If you are a current Licensee and wish convert to the new license please contact Alexander Muse at 214.550.2003.

Did you know that six of the most popular apps for holiday shoppers feature the ShopSavvy barcode scanner?

It’s true — and you can be sure there will be lots of scanning with these apps on Black Friday. ShopSavvy expects more than 60 million scans during Black Friday weekend.

Here are the top shopping apps featuring ShopSavvy technology:

ShopSavvy 4

ShopSavvy began as a barcode-scanning app that helped consumers compare prices at the point of purchase. With ShopSavvy 4, we’ve taken the app to a whole new level — enabling consumers not only to see information from our extensive price comparison engine, but to add their own deals, discoveries, ratings and reviews to our database, Wikipedia-style.

iPhone users can download it here at iTunes

Sam’s Club App

The must-have app for every Sam’s Club Member. Whether you’re on a road trip and need to find your nearest Club or in your own backyard planning a weekend shopping trip, you can locate convenient services and find out more about the items on your shopping list. And for Plus Members, checking your eValues℠ is now right at your fingertips.

iPhone users can download it here at iTunes

Consumer Reports Mobile Shopper

Make the best buying decisions with Consumer Reports Mobile Shopper™. Get expert, unbiased Consumer Reports’ Ratings, Brand Reliability, Buying Advice and Recommendations on thousands of products — including appliance, electronics, home & garden, babies & kids and car products — all straight from the expert engineers, testers and editors at Consumer Reports®.

iPhone users can download it here at iTunes

PriceGrabber

Have the power of PriceGrabber.com, the industry leader in online comparison shopping, at your fingertips. PriceGrabber.com’s mobile app helps you quickly find the lowest price on millions of products from thousands of online merchants and sellers. Find products, compare prices, read product reviews and get merchant ratings — it’s all right in your hand.

iPhone users can download it here at iTunes

FastMall

Never get lost in the mall again! Now you can navigate any mall map without the need for GPS or Wi-Fi. Once you download any mall map you can get interactive navigation even without an Internet signal. Scan a product and if it’s available at the mall we will find it, then take you to the store selling it turn by turn for the best possible price.

iPhone users can download it here at iTunes

CNET Scan & Shop

Scan product barcodes or enter a product name to instantly access the latest CNET Editor and User Reviews and compare prices between online and local retailers while out shopping. Create wishlists of your favorite products, set price alerts and share your scans via Twitter, Facebook, or e-mail.

Android users can download CNET Scan & Shop — as well as all the apps highlighted in this post — from their handsets.

Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Michigan, has launched a new, free mobile application called Shop Social for the iPhone and Android that combines barcode scanning software, game mechanics and social media in a retail setting. The app was built using the ShopSavvy ScannerKit SDK.

From the news release:

Shop Social is an experimental mobile application built and developed by student and faculty researchers in the Mobile Applications and Service Lab in Grand Valley’s School of Computing and Information Systems.

Different from other barcode scanning apps, Shop Social focuses on the social aspects of retail shopping. “Shop Social allows users to share their finds on Facebook,” said Jonathan Engelsma, associate professor of computing. “As the user shares the information and uses the app more and more, they begin to receive badges, similar to Foursquare.”

When a product is scanned, relevant photos from Flickr, videos from YouTube and product reviews are sent back to the user within seconds. The app includes four sections: the “Social” tab allows users to share their product interests with friends on Facebook; the “Lookup” tab is where users retrieve product reviews, photos and videos; the “My Stuff” tab houses the user’s favorite products and badges; and the “Store” tab provides locations of local stores where the product can be found.

A team of three students, led by Engelsma, began work on the app last January. “While this project provides more opportunities for students to build apps, it also serves as a research opportunity to understand how users respond to mobile apps in a retail setting,” said Engelsma.

iPhone users can download Shop Social at iTunes

Thousands of developers have downloaded our ScannerKit SDK for iOS and Android and more than a few asked if we had an ad free option. I am pleased to announce we have updated our license agreement to include an ‘Ad Free Option’. Beginning tomorrow, developers can implement our barcode scanning SDK in their mobile apps without delivering AdOns®. The Ad Free Option allows the developer to purchase our 30% share of the advertising at the average price we were able to generate during the prior quarter (minimum value $.03 and maximum value $.20). Of course at the present time we are not activating AdOns® until January 1, 2011 AND until an app reaches 100,000 users – until then your app will run AdOn-free!