ShopSavvy Unveils QR Code Support, Augmented Reality at CES

ShopSavvy Unveils QR Code Support, Augmented Reality at CES

Founders of the popular barcode-scanning app, a leading vote getter in the CES 2010 Mobile Apps Showdown, will be available for demos and meetings at the event.

Las Vegas (Vocus) January 7, 2010 -- Big in Japan, a Dallas-based idea factory for mobile applications (http://www.biggu.com), announced that ShopSavvy, the leading barcode-scanning app for comparison shopping (http://www.biggu.com/apps/), will unveil QR code support and ShopSavvy Product Radar, a new way to view prices from local stores that displays results in augmented reality, during the 2010 International CES show.

ShopSavvy is also a leading vote-getter in the CES 2010 Mobile Apps Showdown. The competition will feature two winners, one selected at a live CES event and the second by online voting by the general public.

Alexander Muse, co-founder of Big in Japan, said the addition of QR code support was prompted by Google’s Favorite Places program.

“QR codes are a Japanese technology that had not gotten much traction among U.S. retailers, but because they can store far more information than standard 1D barcodes, we’re seeing increasing adoption here,” Muse said. “Recently, Google mailed QR code stickers to over 100,000 local retailers as part of its Favorite Places program. Businesses can add these stickers to their store windows and customers can scan the barcode with their mobile phones to read reviews, find coupons, and star or rate the business.”

ShopSavvy QR code support became available for Android phones, including the Nexus One, Hero and Droid, last week and will soon be available on the iPhone.

Big in Japan has also unveiled ShopSavvy Product Radar, a new feature that enables users to view search results via augmented reality. The feature will be made available on Android phones and the iPhone in the coming weeks.

“Today if you scan a barcode, we show you local results in a list or map view,” Muse explained. “With the list view you see a list of retailers who sell the item ordered by price. With the map view you see a map of retailers ordered by distance from you. In the new ShopSavvy Product Radar view, the user can hold his camera in space and see the various stores selling his product in augmented reality.”

ShopSavvy was named one of 20 semifinalists in the CES 2010 Mobile Apps Showdown. The semifinalists will be demonstrating their apps at the Mobile Apps Showdown stage in the North Hall during the show. The online winner will be chosen based on voting by the general public, which runs through Jan. 8. Cast your vote at http://mobileappsshowdown.com/ballot-box.

ShopSavvy enables mobile users to comparison shop on the go for more than 20 million products at more than 20,000 retailers worldwide, simply by scanning the product's barcode using their phone's built-in camera. Using the barcode information, ShopSavvy searches the Web for the best prices on the product, displaying the lowest prices online as well as at nearby brick-and-mortar retailers. ShopSavvy looks up product reviews to further assist with purchase decisions.

More than 1 million ShopSavvy users scanned more than 18 million products on Black Friday weekend alone (Nov. 27-29).

Mobile users may download ShopSavvy at one of the following links:

ShopSavvy for iPhone: http://bit.ly/shopsavvyiphone

ShopSavvy for Android: http://bit.ly/shopsavvyandroid

Note for Media: Members of the news media who wish to interview Alexander Muse or see a demo of ShopSavvy’s features during CES should contact Cathy Baradell at cbaradell@ideagrove.com or 972-235-3439.

About Big in Japan

Big in Japan Inc. is a Dallas-based idea factory for mobile applications, building software for Google’s Android, Apple's iPhone, Windows Mobile and other platforms and devices. Big in Japan's ShopSavvy application — a personal shopping assistant — is one of the most popular applications on Android-powered mobile phones. Big in Japan was one of the original winners of the Google Android Challenge in September 2008 for its development of ShopSavvy. The application won a 2009 Netexplorateur of the Year award at the French Senate in Paris and was named Under the Radar’s Best App of 2009. Big in Japan was a finalist for the international MobileMonday Mobile Peer Awards as well as the 2008 Crunchies. For more information, visit www.biggu.com

Contact:    

Cathy Baradell        

(972) 235-3439        

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Contact Information Cathy Baradell

Big in Japan

http://www.biggu.com

972-235-3439