I was watching the local news last night when they did a quick blurb on a mobile phone service called SCANBUY. This company looks to have been around for a while and I can't understand why the idea hasn't been talked about more.
The basic concept behind the SCANBUY service is that you run an application (via your wireless carrier) on your picture phone. When you're at a major retail store, you can take a picture of the bar code of the product. SCANBUY will then report back the pricing of that item at other local area stores. That way you know if the asking price is in par with other stores in the area.
This is a really great idea that will hopefully catch on. It's on available on a limited number of phones right now. In addition to the software being available for your phone, you wireless carrier must also provide the service. In my case, they list the Motorola v710 phone as being supported, but Verizon doesn't currently offer the service—which sucks.
I really like the idea that I can easily cross compare the price of an item, just by taking a picture of the bar code. Hopefully this service catches on and Verizon picks it up.
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