SA's online price comparison directory, PriceCheck, has rolled out an Android mobile application that allows users to scan barcodes and compare product prices using mobile devices.
Launched publicly on the Android Market (Google Play), in December last year, the PriceCheck Barcode Scanner app was developed jointly by software solutions provider DVT, responsible for front-end development, and PriceCheck, which developed the back-end functionality internally.
Manager of enterprise mobile solutions at DVT, Johan Pieters, says the app is “simple” to use. “All the user has to do is point their mobile device's camera at the barcode of the item they want to purchase, such as a book, DVD, digital product, or any other item supported by PriceCheck. The PriceCheck barcode app then automatically searches for the details of the item via the PriceCheck mobile Web site.”
The price comparison app, currently available for download from Android and Samsung app stores, was developed using industry standard components. According to Pieters, this made it “inexpensive to build and easy to deploy”.
“We built it using ZXING (zebra crossing), an open source, multi-format 1D/2D barcode image processing library implemented in Java. It uses the camera on Android devices to photograph a barcode and decode it. The code is free, making it a great testament to open source software that is collaboratively created and used in free and paid apps.”
Product expansion
According to product owner for mobile at PriceCheck, Charl Mocke, the company's database consists of 200 vendors (online shops) offering more than seven million products that have barcodes supported by the app.
He says plans to integrate everyday products such as groceries are also on the cards. “We are in discussion with more online shops to get them to list with us, which will mean more products with barcodes, as well as getting our existing set of shops' products barcode support increased, as well as local grocery supply chains to provide us with their product listings and barcodes. This will mean users will also be able to compare prices between different shops on everyday grocery products.”
Mocke says the app is unique in that it is the only locally-based platform that can scan barcodes and perform a product lookup on South African-based online products for price comparison. “There are apps that can scan barcodes, but they are of international origin and do not point to South African-based online stores.”
PriceCheck's new mobile Web site is in development and, according to Mocke, “will support a multitude of modern smartphone platforms”. He says barcode scanning will be one of many on its list of features.
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