Figure 17-21: RedLaser turns your iPhone camera into a spicy barcode scanner.
RedLaser
You’re out and about shopping and wondering whether you’re getting a decent deal. Pull out RedLaser and scan the barcode imprinted on the package. Doing so searches online and local prices for hundreds of retailers. If the barcode isn’t readily available, you can type a product search with the iPhone’s keyboard.
If RedLaser properly identifies a product, as it did with a bottle of McCormick garlic powder, as shown in Figure 17-21, it can serve up pricing results from a number of sources, including Google, Buy.com, TheFind, SDC.com, Milo.com, Half.com, Target, and of course eBay, which owns this handy app. It can find prices in U.S. dollars, pounds sterling, and euros.
When you scan a food item, RedLaser can help you uncover nutrition facts. It’ll also show you top deals of the day.
RedLaser can recognize a variety of barcode types, as well as QR codes, which give you access to web addresses, contact information, calendar events, and more. Inside the app you can even create your own QR code.
The app keeps the results of previous scans in a History list.
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