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The move could make it easier for Android users to find and buy products online, which would help Google move its lucrative ad platform to the mobile space
By Marin Perez, InformationWeek, May 18 2009, 1030 hrs
Google wants to make it easier for users to shop for products while on the go, and it has integrated bar-code scanning into Android.
Google Product Search for mobile is a feature that enables mobile users to look up detailed information about a product's ratings, price, reviews, and details from around the Web. The bar-code scanner means users can skip manually entering the product's name and just use the handset's camera.
To enable this feature, users have to download the Barcode Scanner app from the Android Market. Once the app is open, Android users need to center a red line over the bar code until it captures the data and retrieves the product information from the Web.
"Today, bar-code scanning works best for products like electronics, books, movies, or video games, but we're working on adding more bar odes for other items," Google wrote on its mobile blog. "Of course, if your scan does not return a result, you can always type in the product name just as before."
A bar-code scanner is nothing new for Android, as an app called ShopSavvy has been out since the mobile operating system was launched. But Google's weight may make the technology get wider adoption, and it could lead to more mobile phone users finding and buying products online. This fits in nicely with the search company's long-term strategy of migrating its lucrative online ad platform to the mobile space. Google CEO Eric Schmidt has even said he expects mobile advertising to eventually be more lucrative than ads on the normal Web.
Reports indicate more people will get a chance to download the bar-code scanner, as Strategy Analytics said Android will see up to 900 percent growth this year. This growth will be fueled by Android's low-cost licensing model, innovative apps, and new handsets from the likes of HTC, Samsung, and Motorola.
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