Joe let me know about Edocrab, barcode spelled backwards, from Steelthorn which is a free app that lets you scan barcodes with your camera. Once you take a picture of a barcode you can get online price comparisons, reviews, images, video clips, and more from your BlackBerry.
I could have sworn there was another BlackBerry app that did this but I cannot seem to find it. Still Edocrab is free and gets the job done. On the flip side I barely shop for anything in stores that I could alternatively buy online. For example, when was the last time you bought a CPU or computer part from a regular retail store?
You can read more about Edocrab and download the app at www.edocrab.com
via BlackBerrySites
mckinneycm Not Registered
Posted: September 16, 2009 at 12:09 PM EST
I installed it on my Bold and when I press ‘scan’ it says:
“Sorry, your device does not meet the hardware requirements for scanning barcodes. Please use the ‘Search’ feature to manually enter the barcode instead.”
mckinneycm Not Registered
Posted: September 16, 2009 at 12:22 PM EST
So, after reading the FAQs, I see that only the Storm, Tour, and 8900 are supported.
Deleting……
lol Not Registered
Posted: September 28, 2009 at 10:17 AM EST
delete your phone instead
Nikolaus Walch ( View Profile) Enthusiast - Posts: 601
Posted: September 16, 2009 at 12:10 PM EST
I tried and tried and tried to take a good enough picture of a barcode using my 8900. Each time it said it wasn’t good enough and let me compare the picture I took with the “perfectly ideal” (non-camera-phone looking) example they have. Too sensitive man!
Nikolaus Walch ( View Profile) Enthusiast - Posts: 601
Posted: September 16, 2009 at 12:39 PM EST
Ok I did finally get it to work. My previous attempt was on a water bottle, which is rounded, so maybe that didn’t help. This time it was of a box of office pens. It was recognized, BUT returned no search results. Need to take a trip to Best Buy to look at LED TVs
chris overly Not Registered
Posted: September 16, 2009 at 12:55 PM EST
The other application you were thinking of is from Amazon, and it is free… although it does require an Amazon.com account to function.
Sammy Not Registered
Posted: November 9, 2009 at 7:12 PM EST
it only searches amazon….not much price comparison. ama-monsters.
trucky Not Registered
Posted: September 16, 2009 at 1:26 PM EST
There is an app called NeoReader that actually works and is free. Edocrab installed on my Curve but wouldn’t do more than let me manually type in the code.
http://www.neoreader.com/home.html
Nikolaus Walch ( View Profile) Enthusiast - Posts: 601
Posted: September 16, 2009 at 2:26 PM EST
Thanks for the suggestion of NeoReader. The site’s video of a woman scanning a universal barcode at a bus stop to get all the bus schedule info on her phone is a pretty cool concept, but I’ve never seen those at any bus stop I’ve seen. I tried to install on my 8900, but though recognized as an 8900 it is not supported. It let me see what BB models are supported, and the Bold and 83XX as well as Pearl and Storm. I’m trying the Bold (9000) version on my 8900 to see how that works. If you phone is NOT supported, their mobile site lets you enter the barcode manually, which is really nice. Mobile site is: get.neoreader.com. The UI is more clumsy then edocrab, but worth investigation.
Nikolaus Walch ( View Profile) Enthusiast - Posts: 601
Posted: September 16, 2009 at 2:30 PM EST
Correction: the optimal OTA URL to enter barcodes manually is: http://get.neoreader.com/mobile/hsd/go
Dan Entin ( View Profile) Newcomer - Posts: 4
Posted: September 17, 2009 at 11:37 AM EST
NeoReader is a 2D barcode reader like ScanLife. Edocrab is for the purpose of scanning traditional UPC barcodes – similar to the popular ShopSavvy app for Android.
A Claye Jones Not Registered
Posted: September 17, 2009 at 6:47 AM EST from my BlackBerry 9000
Edocrab is a pass for me since it doesn’t work on my Bold. I’ll wait till they fix it. I thought Neo Reader only worked for the new bar codes? The Amazon App doesn’t work that great. It doesn’t scan bar codes, but you can take pics with it to save and it will find something similar to what you want. Not entirely the same as Edocrab or Neo Reader.
Sammy Not Registered
Posted: November 9, 2009 at 7:15 PM EST
I heard there was a new release for edocrab today on twitter with new features. I downloaded it and it works great so far. Going to use it to buy my text books this fall. I enter the UPC since my bold has a crappy non auto focus camera, but it’s quick and pretty awesome when I’m buying stuff at best buy and such and want to compare it to online!