Android price-checker for SA

Online shopping and price comparison directory, PriceCheck.co.za has announced an app from the Android and Samsung app stores that lets you scan barcodes using a smartphone and compare the product prices to other vendors.

Online shopping and price comparison directory PriceCheck.co.za has rolled out an app that is available for download from Android and Samsung app stores. The front-end development of the barcode scanning app was developed by software solutions provider DVT, with all back-end functionality developed in-house by PriceCheck. It lets users scan barcodes using their mobile devices and compare product prices from local vendors supported by PriceCheck.

‚It’s a simple application and it’s easy to use,‚ says Johan Pieters, manager, enterprise mobile solutions, at DVT. ‚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 website.‚

‚It’s a very useful app that makes online price comparison even more satisfying and convenient for people,‚ says Charl Mocke, product owner for mobile at PriceCheck.

The great complexity in the mobile world at present is fragmentation, according to Pieters, who notes that the multitude of different platforms available can make the building of apps a complex and costly process.

‚This app was developed using industry standard components, making it inexpensive to build and quick to deploy,‚ he says. ‚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.‚

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