Showing posts with label Technology. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Technology. Show all posts
RedLaser - Price Comparison via Barcodes
For sometime I've thought the killer iPhone app would be one where you could be in a shop and use the camera as a barcode scanner to check prices on products. The technology for camera based barcode reading has been around sometime (apps on desktops like Delicious Library already use it).
Well one of my predictions for an iPhone killer app is now here 'RedLaser'. You fire the application up, guide the camera to the barcode of the product and behold- it looks up on the Internet (sites like Amazon) to find the price !
Totally amazing - used this a lot today just to log things I need to buy for the new place. I hope the authors make a stack of money- they deserve it for such an industry changing application.
My only wonder is who is the first retailer to ban the use of the app ?
myPantone - Colour Capture / Identification
I've been thinking of buying a colour identification gadget for sometime, but they are a little on the pricey side (about £300). Today I found that Pantone now do an iPhone app, so I downloaded it. Had a play around- it uses the iPhone camera to capture the colour (trouble is that lighting and the iPhone screen aren't that calibrated). Still, it's a fairly good first pass and for the low price you can't complain. I'm sure as the iPhone's camera evolves so will the app.
It's funny, for sometime now I've been a bit bored with the tech scene. I guess it's partly due to the economic situation that companies have been holding back releasing products. Then, like a bus a load of them come along at the same time and the wallet takes a hit. Working in the tech sector I know what potential is out there and I have to keep pinching myself that technology and products take time to get to the market.
I got chatting to one of the people I work with in the US who was asking what I did out of work. My initial comment was "work", then we talked a bit more and I indicated I liked carrying a camera with me to take pictures of funny/interesting things I see (I'm not at all interested in the science of photography). Also, my absolute love for well made and thought out things. I was showing him the Leica website and spotted a new camera 'X1', thankfully it's not released until early next year (so avoiding a trip to a fantastic camera store in Palo Alto I usually buy camera's from.
..Spend like the Emarati's.. (Google tells me that's what you call people from Dubai).
So far the trip has been good on the gadgets front (or bad on the wallet front). I always like to browse stores when I travel for techno gadgets. I also have a fascination (nice way of putting it) for stationery and random desk 'gadgets'- something I've had since I was a child as long as I can remember.
British Airways in-flight
Of course traveling on British Airways doesn't help- I'm not a huge fan of in-flight shopping but as I rarely travel on BA (as opposed to Virgin) it's always worth a browse through their shopping magazine and there's usual something on the technology side worth buying. This time it was the Richard Solo Charger for the iPhone. It's a backup battery for the iPhone that clips to the bottom (and doesn't actually fall off). Works pretty well so far, charging via a USB port and then hooking into the bottom of the iPhone to charge it up. Also has a light and (more usefully) a Laser Pointer. Thankfully Apple haven't changed the form factor of the new iPhone 3GS so when I get that on my return it'll work a treat. Of course getting the iPhone is another story (in Cambridge it'll be like asking for a Pineapple in a Moscow corner shop).
Technology Shops in Dubai
Bit of a mixed bag here. There are a number of shops that you go into that are void of anything that has been released in the last year or so. There are a number of branded stores (Panasonic, Samsung, etc.) and a number of chains. I picked up this Samsung 120GB mini hard disc(guess it uses the same form mini hard disc present in the latest iPods). Very small- enough to hold a number of films when I travel and throw into my case. Can't seem to buy them in the UK.
I've never been a fan of Virgin Megastores, but the ones here in Dubai are pretty good. Very good selection of Dance and Chillout music. Left the store with a pile of CDs (that no doubt I could have bought on Amazon cheaper) - still I believe in paying for something when I get to preview it first. Biggest purchase was a set of Beats Headphones. I've been looking at these for some time now and the guy in the shop let me try them (strange due to hygiene reasons, but as the box was newly opened I didn't care). Sound feels way better than the current set of headphones I have - they also feel like they won't break (the cord is very clever flat style rather than the rounded ones that always break).
Japanese Stationery
Large bookshop here in the Dubai Mall (Kinokuniya) has a great selection of Japanese stationery. I normally get my 'fix' in a store in San Francisco, but this was a good find. Left with a load of folders and B5 paper-punched books. I really don't understand why there isn't a shop in the UK that imports these sort of things - actually Selfridges used to but a folder was about £20 so I expect few people actually bought them.
Japanese Stationery
Large bookshop here in the Dubai Mall (Kinokuniya) has a great selection of Japanese stationery. I normally get my 'fix' in a store in San Francisco, but this was a good find. Left with a load of folders and B5 paper-punched books. I really don't understand why there isn't a shop in the UK that imports these sort of things - actually Selfridges used to but a folder was about £20 so I expect few people actually bought them.
Delicious Library available for the iPhone ! For anyone who hasn't ever seen this application (Mac only) it's a fantastic application written for Mac OS to allow you to catalogue all your media (Books, DVDs, etc.). The coolest thing is the input mechanism- it uses the iSight camera on the Mac to read the barcode and then goes off to Amazon to get the details. That way you get a nice image of your book/DVD/CD on a bookshelf (as well as not having to enter all the details).
I've been waiting for the iPhone version for a while now and heard the other day it really was coming online, just grabbed it from the App Store. Now this version doesn't scan barcodes on the iPhone - but I expect that to come in a future version !
Just think- friend shows you a book and you can instantly scan the barcode and order from Amazon ! - very clever..
That's 2 good Apps that I've been waiting to come to the iPhone finally arrived - the other being WorldMate - an app that is great for those who travel (you can lookup and store flight itineraries etc.). It's surprised me just how long these folks have taken to make it available on the iPhone.
What's also interesting is to see the price iPhone apps are compared to the Windows Mobile/Symbian version - way way cheaper (about 5x in some cases). Still, I guess they have a much wider potential sales base. I like that, clever independent developers being paid for their efforts...
Rest assured I was already watching the keynote briefs. O2 tell me that the new iPhone will be available 19 June. I get back to the UK 20 June - guess where I'll be visiting first ?
I'm glad Apple have finally realised that 32GB is a sensible capacity (been messing around with playlists for as long as I can remember just trying to get everything to fit in). Love the idea of Internet tethering - although I'm sure UK users will pay a premium for it. Still, if it gets me away from messing around with an external USB modem stick...
I really want a new MacBook Air (Solid State Drive) but can't really justify it as my current one suffices (fantastic for storing DVDs etc.)
