Today I was looking at the new feature cell phones have for barcodes scanning. Then I thought, that being so boring to browse supermarket web sites, why not to scan the products you have at home with your phone and then to send the list to the supermarket!?. Then I thought… even better!, why not to scan the code, send it to a web service of the shop and to get  availability and price!, so then you can add it to your cart and check-out on the phone or with the credit card on file? I think the new phones are so powerful and most of them are online, so they become a great way to interact with barcoded products, outside or inside the supermarket. For example, you can be in the supermarket and you like a product but you want ot add it in a wishlist for future purchases, then you just open the shop application, scan the barcode and add it to a shopping list. So the market have good information, and you have a good service.  Now there are some iPhone apps that search for the best price scanning the barcode. Look at this video:

Good, right? I believe there are many things to do as services with this new features, even with 2D codes (QR codes) and scanlife that are becoming very common. Many ideas comes to my mind. Maybe I will publish some in future posts. A good example follows:

Google has mailed out window stickers with two-dimensional bar codes (aka, QR codes) to the most-searched for or clicked-on businesses in its local business directory. Anyone with a QR code reader in their phone can scan it to call up a Google Mobile local directory page for one of these “Favorite Places,” which generally includes a map, phone number, directions, address, reviews, and a link to the store’s website. (It’s a mobile version of Google Places).