After the success of Google Product Search for Mobiles, which was recently launched, Google has now launched a barcode scanning service which can be used from the Android mobile handset.
This new facility has been integrated with the Google Product Search for mobiles. This service could be especially useful to find out details of certain products, study product reviews and compare prices with other similar products. This service can be very useful when the shopper is actually in the store and needs to make a quick decision on whether or not to buy a particular product.
At present this is a free service.
In order to use this facility, a user first has to download the app on his handset. To do so, he goes to Google.com on his handset and accesses Google Product Search on the homepage. He then goes to a tab titled ‘more’ and selects ‘Shopping’. He can then click on the ‘Scan Barcode’ button to install the latest version of the barcode scanner app.
Once the app is installed, he can easily use his phone to scan various products, by going to Product Search and using the ‘Scan Barcode’ button. When the app opens, there is a red line, which must be centered over the UPC (Universal Product Code) and the phone camera should be held steadily over it. Once the barcode is read, the user will receive a Google Product Search Results page, on his handset.
This barcode system is currently useful for products like books, videos, electronics, movies etc, and Google is already in the process of adding barcodes of more products.
If the barcode scan is unsuccessful, users can always proceed by typing in the search term or product name as usual.
This facility has only been introduced in the U.S. and U.K. on Android powered handsets and is similar to iPhone’s Snaptell.
