RedLaser (an application that scans the barcode of a product and then searches online for that product and it’s prices) is not a new application it has been in both the App Store and the jailbreak community for a while now however, the App Store version of the application recently received an update. The update was in review for quite some time and finally made it through the approval process. Version 2.2.0 of the app drastically improves RedLaster’s performance making it as good as the jailbroke version! Actually, with a few of the new features, I would say it is now better than the jailbroke version of the app.

The new features of version 2.2.0 include:
✓ Dramatically improved accuracy
✓ Faster scanning
✓ Realtime EAN support
✓ Realtime UPC-E support
✓ Improved Amazon search
✓ Improved Google search in Europe
✓ Titles for many more products
✓ “Clear” option
✓ Email includes barcode number attachment
✓ See details without exiting app
✓ Disable auto-search option
✓ Initiate scan from website (advanced)

While I was giving the update a test run, I was once again impressed by how quickly the app recognizes a barcode. On most occasions I had just lined up the bar code and it was already scanning it… even as I moved around and the image looked totally blurry. I tested RedLaster on a range or products from food to shampoo to books to Xbox games to Candles… it scanned and found every product I tested. I love that the update now allows you to view the details of a result within the application instead of taking you to an external browser.

Overall, a seriously cool application… it even has a cool sound affect. Once you start scanning, you wont be able to stop until you have scanned everything in sight!

Remember, you can go into the stock Settings application and change quite a few settings for RedLaser including the currency (USD, GBP and EUR), Amazon Search Results (Canada, China, France, Germany, Japan, United Kingdom and United Stater) and turn the Automatic Search on/off.

ScreenShots

App Store Description:

RedLaser ―― Impossibly accurate barcode scanning.

✓ Shop smarter. RedLaser searches for low online prices for millions of products from thousands of retailers using Google Product Search and Amazon (NEW!).

✓ Scan faster. Even without autofocus! RedLaser uses state-of-the-art barcode recognition that can read virtually any product barcode. Works great on the first-gen, 3G, and 3GS!

● Features ●

✓ Scans UPC, EAN, and UPC-E (NEW) barcodes!
✓ Finds prices using Google Product Search, and Amazon (NEW)
✓ Email a list of products
✓ Send barcodes as email attachment (NEW) — Great for inventory!
✓ Search ANY website using a custom URL (How-To coming soon, NEW!)
✓ Automatic search localization for USD, EUR, and GBP, as well as Amazon (.com/.co.uk/.de/.co.jp/.fr/.ca/.cn) autoselection (NEW!)

● Testimonials ●

“Love the app – really amazing. I live in the UK and just went round my house scanning as many barcodes as I could find.”
― Jim

“Dude, this is an absolutely amazing app. It’s totally addictive… other barcode readers are nothing compared to this!”
― Chris

“Just wanted to congratulate you on this app. Its quite genius! It works on the oddest of products.”
― Justin

● Tips ●

► Did you know RedLaser has settings you can configure? Just tap ‘Settings’ from your iPhone home screen and look for RedLaser.

What’s new
✓ Dramatically improved accuracy
✓ Faster scanning
✓ Realtime EAN support
✓ Realtime UPC-E support
✓ Improved Amazon search
✓ Improved Google search in Europe
✓ Titles for many more products
✓ “Clear” option
✓ Email includes barcode number attachment
✓ See details without exiting app
✓ Disable auto-search option
✓ Initiate scan from website (advanced)

RedLaser is an application that scans the barcode of a product and then searches for that product and it’s prices.

When you open the app, you can begin by scanning an item. To do so just select the lighting icon on the lower menu bar which will open a screen where you can scan the barcode. You will need to line up the edges of the bar code within the arrows… the bar code needs to be upright. Once the edges are lined up, the arrows will turn green. Hold it still a split second longer (after the arrows are green) and it will automatically scan the barcode. It can be a little tricky at first but, after a few tries you will have it down. You can also manually take a picture of the bar code using the Camera button.

After the barcode has been scanned, you will instantly get a description of the product, a picture of the product (if available), a list of websites in which you can buy the product (including each website’s price of the product) and the ability to search Amazon for the product. If the barcode was not found, you will get a message saying, “No matching products found.”

From the main menu, you can email the entire list of products you have scanned, get help, delete products from the list of scanned items or manually enter a barcode number.

I starting testing this app by scanning some food items and I quickly got addicted. I ended up going all around scanning anything that had a bar code! I was impressed with how easily, quickly and accurately it scanned barcodes. Out of all the items I scanned, were only two in which the app did not find. I did have to rescan a few items before it found them but, overall, it worked great. One thing I would definitely like to see change is that the webpages would open inside of the application instead of opening in Safari. You can get RedLaser via the BigBoss source.

Note: This app is currently a beta.

Another Note: If you go into your stock Settings application and tap on RedLaser, you are able to change the country and the currency. It currently supports USD, GBP and EUR along with the countries; Canada, China, France, Germany, Japan, United Kingdom and the United States.

ScreenShots