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Barcode-Scanning: RedLaser Acquired by eBay; App is Now Free
June 24, 2010 01:20
We've always believed that handheld barcode-scanning using a variety of devices and techniques would be a big thing. Now, a major Internet player is in the bar-code scanning business.
Occipital Media, the Boulder, CO company that developed RedLaser, the popular
barcode-scanning app for iPhone, was acquired by eBay today. Terms were not disclosed.
Here's the App Store page for Red Laser. The formerly $1.99 app is now free to download and use.
From the Announcement:
RedLaser is the top-selling iPhone barcode-scanning application for comparison shopping and finding product information using a mobile device.
“With RedLaser’s innovative technology, eBay is continuing to help shoppers quickly find the best deals online, and eBay sellers will be able to list their items faster.”---Mark Carges, Chief Technology Officer and Senior Vice President, Global Products, eBay Marketplaces.
eBay plans to integrate RedLaser’s barcode-scanning technology into its leading iPhone applications, including its eBay Marketplace, eBay Selling, StubHub and Shopping.com applications, providing more than 10 million users with access to product information for fast and easy selling and comparison shopping. The technology is designed to help consumers find great deals online for virtually any product with a barcode, and for eBay sellers to quickly create listings by accessing pricing trends and product details for millions of items in eBay’s catalog.
We will have to wait and see if eBay allows outside developers to work with RedLaser to build their own products or if it will become a 100% eBay service.
If you don't use RedLaser but the name sounds familiar, nice job. RedLaser does have a connection to the library world.
In January of this year, OCLC announced that RedLaser users could scan a book and find if a local library (via WorldCat.org) had the material they wanted to find.
In the case of the RedLaser/OCLC service, RedLaser used one of WorldCat's application programming interfaces (APIs) to develop the book search service. Again, we will have to wait and see if eBay will end the service or allow it to continue. Of course, there are a number of other barcode-scanning projects and products on the market and it's likely one or more would be interested in working with OCLC.
See Also: eBay acquires RedLaser bar code scanning app (via CNET)
UPDATE: Another barcode-scanning app, pic2shop, also allows users to scan and check local libraries (via WorldCat) for a title. This service became available in March, 2010 and it's a free iPhone app.
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