(note: ShopSavvy iPhone users can ignore this post)

When we submitted our application to Google’s Android Developer Challenge it was called GoCart.  Our logo was the blue ‘cart’-like icon seen below.  After we won the challenge T-Mobile asked us to change our name to something more ‘shopping’ oriented, they suggested ShopSavvy and we adopted the new name.  However, we didn’t have time to change our icon before the official launch and stuck with the blue cart icon.

Soon afterward Google released their ‘icon design guidelines‘ for Android and after a STRONG recommendation from from Deutsche Telekom that we needed to change the blue cart into something that looked like a barcode.  Evidently ‘ShopSavvy’ doesn’t translate into German so we decided to comply with Google’s icon design guidelines AND Deutsche Telekom’s request to include a barcode in the icon.  The resulting icon was a 3D panel with a simulated barcode on it.  The new icon was VERY unpopular as evidenced by scores of angry market comments, emails and blog posts.  I blogged about it here.

When we were ready to launch the iPhone version of ShopSavvy we got lots of negative feedback about our logo.  Everyone thought we needed something more compelling.  More than 4 different designers worked on the project, but we never found anything compelling.  We still didn’t have an icon by November 2nd – on November 3rd we were debuting ShopSavvy for the iPhone at the PayPal Innovate conference and HAD to have an icon for the demo.  On the plane to San Francisco Rylan create a very simple tilted sticker with an edge peeled up.  It began to grow on us and we decided that we would go with it for the demo.  To launch ShopSavvy for Black Friday we had to go ahead and submit the app to Apple with the sticker icon.  What do you think?

Our plan is to use the sticker icon on BOTH iPhone and Android (as well as WinMo and RIM).  This means a third icon change on Android.  The sticker doesn’t meet the Android design guidelines, but it would seem Motorola decided to abandon them for the Droid and Eris as well.  Did you notice?  I think it would be nice if we could have the same icon on all platforms and I think the sticker is the way to go.  We want your feedback before we change.  What do you think?  Here are the icons side-by-side:

We have decided to license our barcode scanning technology under two free models:

• Data Sharing. Free License for Applications that share their data with ShopSavvy (food data, price data, allergy data, review data and so on).  If your data can help ShopSavvy provide users with a better experience we will share our technology with you for free.  We will ALSO provide a link to your app providing you with a free advertising channel.
• Publishing License. Free License for Applications that use Big in Japan’s app publishing services.  We announced this model previously in post titled, “License our barcode scanning tech for free” (you can read more there).

We have scanning libraries for Android AF, Android non-AF, RIM, 2/3G iPhone, 3GS iPhone and Windows Mobile.  If you are interested just email or call Jennifer Donica at 1+214.550.3534 jdonica@architel.com.

Okay, I will admit that two of our developers have been working on a Blackberry version of ShopSavvy for about 30 days.  There are still a number hurdles they need to overcome, but a version of ShopSavvy for Blackberry is definitely on its way.  Once the application is working we will complete the UI and design and release the application.  Based on our current workload I suspect that the application skeleton will be completed in early January and by mid-March we could have the UI completed.  Please don’t hold me to these dates.  There are a number of projects that could extend this time line.  So App World, get ready for ShopSavvy.