There are couple of things which will be of benefit to the user. 1. The user types what he wants, the price comparison shows up along with where he can buy.
2. The user is in a store, scans the barcode.. get the price comparison along with details. 3. The user snaps an images, price comparision along with details. On Thu, Apr 17, 2008 at 1:41 AM, Matthew Tsang <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > I am also very interested in building a common database for all the > retailers. I am just starting to explore this idea for my > application. I think it will be hard to get the small retailers to > jump on board since they have very limited resources. I mean take a > look at Google Base. There are still very limited number of retailers > on it. I think web scraping will still be required to make this > work. > > My idea is to use a combination of soliciting retailers and executing > a web spider that scraps information from known retailers. I am very > interested in helping out in the project. If there isn't one out > there, perhaps we can start forming a team. > > Jeff, I think your project looks really good especially on the price > lookup feature. One idea that I have is to go beyond barcode and use > image recognition. This is where the common retail database will come > in handy since most likely it will store a picture of the actual > product. User takes a photo and the server will try to use image > recognition techniques to compare the photo with the actual product to > determine what the actual product is. I am also very interested in > this. > > Regard, > MT > > Muthuselvam Ramadoss wrote: > > Integrating with the major retailers is the key. If the application can > > retrieve special discount prices from various retailers just for > android, > > then the value add is immense. Having a common retail DB is a great > idea, > > and am guessing its already out somewhere. If not creating one with some > > standards build into it would be a good start. > > > > On Wed, Apr 16, 2008 at 8:16 PM, Jeffrey Sharkey < > [EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > wrote: > > > > > > > > Thanks :) I'm also looking for more ideas on how to improve it. > > > I've heard that people might like a general search box that tries > > > finding products when you don't have a barcode. > > > > > > Also, I've seen a few others building their own databases of retail > > > prices. I'm really interested in that idea, and would like to help > > > out with it too. It would be sweet if we could create a uniform API > > > for several apps to query that db. We might talk with major retailers > > > and see if we can get raw pricing directly from them instead of > > > relying on user-submitted prices. > > > > > > Just thoughts. :) > > > > > > On Apr 14, 3:33 pm, Muthu Ramadoss <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > > Hi, > > > > > > > > This is a really useful application. The ability to scan anything > and > > > > lookup for reviews, buy etc., is a great idea. Good luck on your > > > submission. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Jeffrey Sharkey wrote: > > > > > Hey there, just wanted to share the Android application I just > > > > > finished developing for the Challenge. > > > > > > > > >http://www.jsharkey.org/blog/2008/04/14/android-scan/ > > > > > > > > > Scan is an Android application that finds pricing and metadata for > > > > > anything with abarcode. Check out the 3-minute video showing it in > > > > > action with real barcodes: > > > > > > > > >http://scan.jsharkey.org/ > > > > > > > > > Here are some key features that make Scan stand out: > > > > > > > > > * Automaticbarcoderecognition using onboard phone camera using > > > > > ZXing > > > > > * Shows CD, DVD, or book cover along with detailed reviews > from > > > > > Amazon.com > > > > > * Searches over a dozen stores, both online and brick+mortar > > > > > * Tracklisting for CDs, along with option to play sample > tracks > > > > > right on phone > > > > > * For books, searches local libraries to see if they have a > copy > > > > > > > > > I had a blast writing it, and I'm pumped about getting some actual > > > > > hardware. :) > > > > > > > > -- > > > > Thanks. > > > > > > > > Muthu > > > > Ramadosshttp://mobeegal.inhttp://androidrocks.inhttp://intellibitz.comhttp:// > > > > twitter.com/intellibitzhttp://linkedin.com/in/tellibitzhttp://slideshare.net/intellibitzhttp://groups.google.com/group/android-chennai > > > > +91 44 22476750 > > > > > > > > We develop innovative search solutions using LBS for Android. > > > > > > > > > > > > > -- > > take care, > > Muthu Ramadoss. > > > > http://mobeegal.in > > find stuff closer. > > > -- take care, Muthu Ramadoss. http://mobeegal.in find stuff closer. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Android Challenge" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/android-challenge?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
