Amazon has released Price Check [iTunes link], an iPhone App that could make shopping this holiday season a little easier. The concept is pretty simple: you go to the mall and see an item that catches your fancy. What you do now is hold the item’s barcode up to the iPhone, scan it, then Price Check will automatically check amazon.com to see if the item is cheaper online than it is right there in the store. Why pay $10 more for a widget in a store when it can be sent to your home from Amazon?
Well, I can think of one reason: it’s December 24 and you’ve put off your shopping till the last minute (yet again), and you’re in no position to wait even 24 hours for a gift. Then it wouldn’t matter if the item is 50 percent off on Amazon: you need that toy immediately!
But for everyone else, Price Check could be quite useful.
There’s actual four different ways to scan items: barcodes, you can take a photo of the item and Price Check will try to match it, you can say the name into the mic, or you can plain ol’ type the name into the search box thingy.
The App is free, of course, and works on all iOS devices.