I love a good deal and hate being out in a store and buy something only to find out later I could have gotten it cheaper down the road or online.  Having the iPhone 3GS and autofocus I found a few apps that will read the barcode off a package and bring up search results from stores showing lowest prices and more.  A shoppers dream!  The three apps that I have tried are RedLaser ($1.99,), ShopSavy (free, ), and the recently released Barcode Reader (free, ).

RedLaser has a lot of great features with a price tag.  It says it works with all iPhones though I only have experience with my 3GS which has autofocus.  Open up Redlaser, press on the scan button and it scans the barcode and comes back with a product result plus searches from Google Product Search and The Find Product Search (US and UK).

• Scans UPC, EAN, UPC-E and EAN-8 barcodes.
• Searches for prices on Google and The Find (US and UK).
• Local search done through The Find (US only).
• Email yourself a list of products, or send it to someone else.

I found RedLaser very easy to use.  My hands shake, mostly from the amount of coffee I drink, and my shaking has not effecting any results I have gotten, and I do get results for all of the barcodes I have read.  Note that you need to be running iPhone OS 3.1 or later for RedLaser to work.

The second app is ShopSavy which is a free alternative to RedLaser.  Again, it can be used on all of the iPhones and you point it at a barcode, it reads it and returns results from a database of over 20,000 online and local merchants.  For local results you can call the store and get directions, for all websites you can tell a friend (email link) and browse the merchant’s website.  You can also see reviews for the item. Lastly, you can use ShopSavy with iPhone OS 3.0 or later

While ShopSavy has some nice features, one being that it links to a larger photo of the item, shows the item in color, shows reviews, and links to directions to local stores, I had problems.  My shaky hands were the culprit.  The app would be reading the barcode and then reset itself on a number of items.  ShopSavy appeared to be more finicky and frustrating for me than RedLaser.  When  I was able to scan an item the results were useful but standing in a store trying to get my hands to stop shaking just wasn’t happening all the time.

The last app and the newest to the field is Barcode Reader which is also free.  While it is the only barcode app here that returns results from eBay it also is the only one that does not have local results.  It only promises to work on the iPhone 3GS, earlier models may need “additional gadgets to improve photo quality.”  Searches eBay, Amazon and Google and scans UPC, EAN-13 and EAN-8 barcodes.  An added benefit is the ability to read more about the item on the seller’s website without leaving the app.  You do need to be running iPhone OS 3.1 or later for the app to work.

While I didn’t have the problem with shaky hands like I did with ShopSavy, most times scanning was fine, I did run into the problem of their server being busy and not getting any results.  Bummer!  Also, I missed the local search option that the other two apps offered when I was out shopping.  Lastly, Barcode Reader didn’t always return the lowest price of the three apps (ShopSavy and RedLaser returned very similar results).  Perhaps they need a deeper searching field for items.

Overall, for me, I got what I paid for.  RedLaser did the best job for me while out and about.  Even at home, in a controlled environment, my hands shook too much for ShopSavy to read barcodes everytime while RedLaser has yet to fail me.  If you have steady hands you may not run into the problem I did with ShopSavy and save yourself a couple of dollars in the meantime.  Lack of local searching and server issues put Barcode Reader in last place.

Do you use any of these apps when you are out shopping or have one to suggest?  My preference is RedLaser, what’s your favorite?