Ever wonder what Irish ShopSavvy users are scanning in liquor stores? Evidently one of the retail partners we are working with in Ireland asked Philip the question so we thought we would share the results. Here are the Top 20 Alcohol Scans in Ireland:
1 Jack Daniels 70cl
2 Blossom Hill White Zinfandel
3 Eristoff Original 70cl 4 Southern Comfort 70cl???
5 Moet & Chandon NV
6 Baileys 70cl
7 Bacardi Superior 70cl
8 Jameson 70cl
9 Jagermeister 70cl
10 Concha y Toro Cas Diablo Cab S
11 Desperados 33cl Btl
12 Bombay Sapphire Gin 70cl
13 Absolut 1ltr
14 Veuve Clicquot Brut NV
15 Drambuie 70cl
16 Bollinger Special Cuvee
17 Tia Maria 70cl
18 Malibu 70cl
19 Gallo White Grenache
20 Smirnoff Ice 27.5cl Btl
So it blew me away to learn that the fourth most popular scan is Southern Comfort. Really? Southern Comfort in Ireland?
If you were like me you would have asked why Microsoft was bothering to build yet another smartphone operating system (aka Windows Phone 7) to compete with blockbuster hits like the iPhone and Android. If you worked on WinMo 6.5 you might be even MORE jaded. But I want to suggest that, in the end, it won’t be the operating system that is relevant it will be the apps. It is ALL about the apps now. If developers embrace a platform and great apps emerge an operating system will succeed. After seeing our own team’s work on the Windows Phone 7 version of ShopSavvy and other developers work I am more and more bullish about the platform. Microsoft really has a shot at making something really great. Check out a video of the USGA app:
Yesterday I wrote about the back story on our need to release an updated Scanner Kit SDK for the iPhone. If you are a developer who has already used our SDK in your app to scan barcodes or you are a developer thinking about using our SDK in your app – please download our new version ASAP. From the release notes:
NEW – (Friday July 30th, 2010) – Version 4.0.0
Complete overhaul of underlying barcode scanning and camera frame grabbing logic.
Vastly improved performance and API enhancements
Full compatibility with iOS 4.0 and Apple’s App Store policies and guidelines. (No more “UIGetScreenImage()”)
Full compatibility with iPhone 4, 3GS and 3G devices
WARNING: Don’t update your app if you use our Scanner Kit SDK until you get our new 2.0 version (hopefully released tomorrow).
Earlier this month Apple stopped accepting apps that made use of UIGetScreenImage call (allowing apps like ShopSavvy to take a snapshot of the iPhone’s screen). This ‘call’ has always been private, but Apple made an exception to allow apps like ShopSavvy to work. Apple made it VERY clear from the start that this ‘private’ call would not longer be available once they released their new public API for the camera in IOS4. The new public API is amazing and makes ShopSavvy and our Scanner Kit SDK work like a dream.The downside is that if you have implemented our SDK in your app (or any other barcode scanning library that worked prior to IOS4) Apple will reject your app if you try to update it right now.
Our team saw this coming a mile away and has been working tirelessly to update our scanner kit to stop using the private call in favor of the new public API and as of today our Scanner Kit is working really well. We will be testing tomorrow, but hopefully by the end of the day we will release the SDK publicly.
The new SDK will use NONE of the private methods and will also work significantly better as we replaced all of our slow, shaky, hacky work-around code with Apple’s new officially supported, high-performance camera API calls. Our new 2.0 version scans faster, is more accurate and since it is not using any private, unsupported methods, it will not break whenever Apple releases an update.
Finally, another important thing to note is that Apple is dropping support for the iPhone 2G (original iPhone). They aren’t allowing users to install iOS 4 on it. Therefore it won’t be possible publish an app/update that does real-time barcode scanning on a 2G because iPhone OS 3.x can’t interact with the camera without UIGetScreenImage() which is now back on Apple’s blacklist. Apple said they will grandfather in the old apps that use this and won’t pull them out of the store, they just won’t approve any updates or new apps that use UIGetScreenImage. If you are a 2G user or OS3.X user feel free to use ShopSavvy Classic as it will never be updated – it is Grand Fathered in the app store.
The team here at Big in Japan has been busy working with retailers (and other groups) on various programs, but the most surprising activity is around QR Codes. Just pick up a newspaper and you will read about how QR codes are starting to take hold here in the US. Earlier this year we began supporting QR Code scanning on both the Android and iPhone versions of ShopSavvy. Of course, there were very few QR Codes to scan. I am here to tell you that is about to change.
Lots of retailers like Best Buy plan to include QR Codes in their stores to help consumers learn more about the products they are selling. Look for the strange little two dimensional barcodes near product displays. You can scan these codes with ShopSavvy and you will receive the information that the retailer is interested in providing to you. Of course, you can still scan the one dimensional barcodes (i.e. the UPC or EAN code) on products and get the standard price comparison you have come to expect from ShopSavvy.
Just as ShopSavvy can scan these QR Codes from Best Buy we can also help retailers power their own apps with 2D reading technology. Both our iPhone and Android developer SDKs offer QR Code scanning support – just drop our libraries into a retailer’s mobile app and consumers can begin scanning right away.
Of course 2D codes are popping up on websites like Facebook and in stores thanks to Google’s Favorite places program. We support both of these programs today. Perhaps the most interesting use of 2D codes is by cities. In Washington DC we now support scanning of QR codes in DC Circulator Buses. This month the city added QR Codes on all bus stops and bus shelters. Riders who have ShopSavvy can scan these codes to see a map of their route, their current location and the next bus stop.
Ever wonder what Irish ShopSavvy users are scanning in liquor stores? Evidently one of the retail partners we are working with in Ireland asked Philip the question so we thought we would share the results. Here are the Top 20 Alcohol Scans in Ireland:
Earlier this month Apple stopped accepting apps that made use of UIGetScreenImage call (allowing apps like ShopSavvy to take a snapshot of the iPhone’s screen). This ‘call’ has always been private, but Apple made an exception to allow apps like ShopSavvy to work. Apple made it VERY clear from the start that this ‘private’ call would not longer be available once they released their new public API for the camera in IOS4. The new public API is amazing and makes ShopSavvy and our Scanner Kit SDK work like a dream.The downside is that if you have implemented our SDK in your app (or any other barcode scanning library that worked prior to IOS4) Apple will reject your app if you try to update it right now.
The team here at Big in Japan has been busy working with retailers (and other groups) on various programs, but the most surprising activity is around QR Codes. Just pick up a 
Lots of retailers like Best Buy plan to include QR Codes in their stores to help consumers learn more about the products they are selling. Look for the strange little two dimensional barcodes near product displays. You can scan these codes with ShopSavvy and you will receive the information that the retailer is interested in providing to you. Of course, you can still scan the one dimensional barcodes (i.e. the UPC or EAN code) on products and get the standard price comparison you have come to expect from ShopSavvy.
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