Retail store owners might get a little disappointed when they see someone walk in wearing Google Glass. A new app for the wearable display lets shoppers get an immediate price comparison on the glasses. The software, found by VentureBeat, scans a product barcode and returns pricing information as well as Amazon product reviews.
The app, called Crystal Shopper, was created by Lance Nanek. If that name sounds familiar, it should: We featured another of Nanek’s Google Glass apps — one that can help you out during an interview — just last week. Here’s Nanek showing off his Crystal Shopper application on the SelfScreen site:
Nanek included some gestures to the app; a look up will add the scanned item to a wishlist, while nodding left and right closes the app. For now the software just does a basic price comparison: It will tell you what the high and low price is for each product.
Could you do this same thing on a smartphone? Sure, and you can even get more information from similar apps on the phone. But Crystal Shopper shows how having a connected, second screen can change our ideas of traditional mobile computing. There’s no need to for the technology to get in the way by having you pull out your smartphone when you can seamlessly look at a barcode and get a price comparison.
Read this article on GigaOM.com.
