iPhone App: RedLaser
= 3 stars
Utility app thats cans bar codes and searches for the product on Amazon and Google product search.
The Good
- Once the bar code is scanned in, the app works as advertised, quickly consulting Amazon and Google and returning a list of product results with a little thumbnail and price.
- A keypad so you can type in UPC codes directly.
The Bad
- I found the scanning part to be problematic. You have to line up the iPhone with the bar code, lining up the bar code between two arrows, and then (the hard part) hold absolutely still until the app can take a proper scan. Sometimes it would work quickly, but other times, the process was no faster than just typing in the UPC code numbers or the product name into Google proper. It works best with flat objects resting on a table. I couldn’t get a label on a rounded can to scan, nor while holding an item in one hand and the iPhone in the other. I’d say 50% of the time it doesn’t or takes too long, leaving you feeling like you’re doing something wrong.
- A pretty specific use case. Kind of pointless to look up stuff you already own, therefore it is most useful if you’re out and about in a store and trying to comparison shop — but good luck trying to hold your iPhone perfectly still in a store.
Conclusion
Impressive demo of the iPhone + camera + web connectivity — but only when it works, with the key hurdle getting the app to scan a bar code properly. This is the type of app that you stop demoing to friends because odds are even you’ll end up looking bad. Recommended with caution.
iTunes App Store Link: 
Strange…your user experience with the RedLaser barcode scanner was opposite of mine. I scanned over 100 grocery store products with barcodes of all sizes both rounded and flat and in different light conditions. My success rate was 93 out of 100 on the first try and 97 out of 100 using a second try. I used the iPhone in one hand and the product in the other and found lining the barcode between the arrows was amazingly easy. My technique was to slightly adjust the item until RedLaser recognized the product in usually 1 –5 seconds. Neither the item or the iPhone were held particularly still. The most significant problem I encountered was glare which was rectified when I moved the product to lower light.
Marie, thanks for commenting. It’s good to get different opinions. Perhaps
you have steadier hands. I just couldn’t get it to work reliably and every
time I thought figured out the “trick” to getting it to work, it wouldn’t
the next time around.
Sounds actually like a very useful app. I wounder whether RedLaser receives share of the profit from a sale. In that case, RedLaser could have a very good business case.