Over the weekend I posted the list of every app on my Droid. What I thought I’d do today is talk about the one app that has most changed my life. Which is it? It’s the Amazon.com app. (Use the QRCode for the Android app. Here’s a link to the iPhone version.)
Why has it had the most impact? Well, because is has almost completely changed the way I shop for books.
The first thing it does is it gives me complete mobile access to my Amazon.com wishlists which contain nearly everything I’m looking to buy online whether through Amazon or through another online store. (You did know about the Universal Wishlist browser plugin, right?) This way, when I’m at Half Price Books or another store, I can easily go through my wishlist and see if I can clean a few items off my wishlists at a lower price.
The other, and more powerful feature, is the ability to use the camera to scan a barcode and have the app look up that item in the Amazon store. Results generally appear within seconds. Now I know if it would be cheaper to buy it in the store or order it through Amazon. (Which I can also do right there from my phone should I wish to.) If I don’t buy it I can save it for later, (it will appear on the Amazon.com home page the next time I log in,) or add it to a wishlist.
Oh, and if for some reason the app doesn’t find a match on the barcode (more likely with non-media items,) you can take a photo and send that through. It usually takes a little longer but generally the app is able to come up with a closely matching product, if not the actual product.
Also, don’t assume that Amazon is always cheaper. The wife and I were in Bust Buy last night and we found several Blu-rays we were interested in purchasing that were actually cheaper in the store. (Go figure.)
