Even though the bar code turned 40 last month, smartphone apps around the world are still trying to figure it out.
The ubiquitous block of black lines underscored by numerical coding, now supplemented by radio-frequency tags and the QR code, runs the global economy.
A smartphone decodes this relatively simple technology in seconds. But when a shopping app uses a bar code reader to find the best price on the scanned item, it's like asking the smartphone's camera eye to secrete a liquid tear.
Am I the only person in this app-happy universe who has not found a shopping app or bar code reader that reliably finds the best price, locally or online?
For several weeks before the recent introduction of Amazon's Fire phone, I used an image-recognition app called Flow that one-upped bar code readers by identifying a product simply by pointing the camera at it, no bar code required. A9, Amazon's search and advertising subsidiary, was the listed developer for what amounted to beta-testing this scan-and-buy technology. As Firefly, it's a central shopping component in the new phone.
Firefly scans a product, then instantly places that item in the phone user's Amazon cart.
To test Flow/Firefly and several other shopping apps, I looked for the best price, locally or online, on three products I had bought recently: 1. Wisk Deep Clean laundry detergent (50 ounces). 2. A three-pack of Neutrogena unscented soap bars. 3. Koss Porta Pro headphones. Wisk costs $7.99 and the soap $3.54 locally. The headphones cost $24.99, with free shipping, at Amazon. I found the Koss sale — the list price is $49.99 — at Techbargains.com, an all-purpose deals site that specializes in electronics.
Flow/Firefly
Availability: iOS
Results: 1. $11.99 ($11.45 shipping). 2. $11.99 ($5.48 shipping), but not available for purchase within Flow. 3. $39.36 ($5.74 shipping).
Comment: The results have not caught up to the technology. The app also has trouble with amounts — it identified a single container of Bench & Field Holistic Natural Feline treats as a six-pack at $39.49 when a manual search found a single at $6.99, also eligible for free shipping. The app needs some fine-tuning, but this is much easier and more efficient than a standard bar code reader. Unfortunately, all roads lead to Amazon. This is not a comparison shopper.
RedLaser
Availability: iOS, Android, Windows.
Results: 1. $11.51 online (seller not listed), $9.56 locally, 2. $3.54 at Target online and locally. 3. $33.05 online, no results locally.
Comment: A major shopping app with more than 30 million downloads. Easy to use, best for local searches. No real bargains on this shopping trip. But if I were a shopping-app user, this could be the one.
