Android Shopping Apps

Amazon Shopping by Amazon Mobile LLC (free) - This is the app for Amazon.com, which has more features than Amazon.com in your phone's web browser. It lets you filter by department as you type in the search bar, and then you can sort or filter the search results. In addition to text searching, it allows you to search by scanning barcodes (tap the "barcode" icon in the search bar). I use this for scanning barcodes at a store to check the Amazon reviews for products before I buy them.

Discount Calculator by mmapps mobile (free) - After trying a number of discount calculator apps, this one is my favorite. It lets you set the discount percentage and the tax rate, and when you enter the purchase amount it immediately displays the after-tax purchase price and the after-tax discounted price and the amount you saved.

Find Me Gluten Free by Gluten Free Classes LLC (free) - Finds gluten-free restaurants, fast food, bars, cafes, grocery stores, etc., near you (or near a specific address that you enter). Tap the "gf" icon at the top left corner of the screen to see a list of options. Tap the "map pin" icon and then tap the "go" icon to see a list of the gluten-free restaurants near your location. Tap the "shopping cart" icon at the top of the initial screen to scan barcodes or browse products and ingredients (these features are in beta testing, so they're not fully complete). Tap the "baker's hat" icon at the top of the initial screen to see a list of gluten-free recipes (this feature is in beta testing, so it's not fully complete). Also see Gluten Free Guide (below) and Gluten Free Recipes 1000 (below).

Fooducate Weight Loss Coach by Fooducate, Ltd. (free) - Scan a barcode or type in the name of a food product, and this app will provide a lot of nutrition information about the product (such as potentially harmful ingredients).

Gluten Free Guide by Application Studios (free) - Allows you to search for an ingredient to determine if it's gluten-free. Also see Find Me Gluten Free (above) and Gluten Free Recipes 1000 (below).

Gluten Free Recipes 1000 by Do No(t Much) Evil (free) - Provides nearly 1000 gluten-free recipes. Open the menu to search for recipes by name, ingredient, or keyword. Also see Find Me Gluten Free (above) and Gluten Free Guide (above).

Google Goggles by Google Inc. (free) - Performs Google searches based on what it sees in your rear-facing camera, such as QR codes, barcodes, logos, paintings, books, CDs, DVDs, other products, famous landmarks, and so on. It can also translate text, and add new contacts by scanning business cards, and solve Sudoku puzzles. I've tried all of these features except for famous landmarks, and they work quite well. For more barcode scanners, see Amazon Shopping (above) and RedLaser Barcode & QR Scanner (below).

Out of Milk Shopping List by Capigami, Inc. (free) - I never thought I would like using a "shopping list" app, but this is the best of all the ones I've tried, and it turns out to be quite handy. In my hand-written shopping lists, the items are in a random order, and some of the items are squeezed in here and there so that they're near another similar item. With this app, I've grouped the items into categories based on where the items are located in the store (e.g. Cold Stuff, Snack Items, Produce, Meat, etc.). It took a little time to transfer my grocery list to the app, but now the items are stored in the app so I don't need to write them down anymore. In the app I've got all of my items in a Pantry List. To create my grocery list I simply tap the checkbox next to each item that I need, then tap the "Add" button at the bottom of the screen. Each item automatically appears in the category where I had originally placed it (e.g. Produce). At the store, my shopping list is easy to read (no more chicken-scratches on a piece of paper), and in each aisle I know exactly what to get in that aisle. When I put an item into my physical shopping cart, I simply tap the item's checkbox to cross out the item, which moves it to the "in your cart" category at the bottom of the screen. This make it easy to see what items I still need to get. When I'm finished shopping, I tap the "Delete all" button under the "In your cart" category to remove everything from my shopping list.

Recipe Calculator by easicorp (free) - After trying several recipe conversion apps, this one is my favorite. Enter the original number of servings that a recipe is designed for (e.g. for 4 people), and the desired number of servings that you need (e.g. for 6 people), and the amount of an ingredient (e.g. 1-1/2 cups). Tap the "Calculated Amount" box to display the new amount of the ingredient that you need to use.

RedLaser Barcode & QR Scanner by eBay Mobile (free) - After trying a number of barcode scanner apps, this one is my favorite. Tap the red "Scan" icon at the bottom of the screen, then aim your camera at a product's barcode label or QR code. The app will display some information about the item, including prices for the item at various websites and in local stores. To create your own QR codes, go to the menu and tap "QR Code Creator." When the QR Codes screen comes up, tap "QR Code Creator" or tap the "plus" icon at the bottom of the screen. There are four types of QR codes you can make:

• Create a contact QR - This will display a list of your contacts. Tap a contact, and the QR code will be displayed (tap the "mountain" icon at the bottom of the screen to save the QR code to your Gallery). If someone else scans this QR code with their phone then the contact information can be saved in their list of contacts.
• Create a personal QR - This is the same as "Create a contact QR" (above), except it lets you type in the personal details (name, address, phone number, etc.).
• Create a text QR - This allows you to type in 458 characters of freeform text, then it creates a QR code containing the text.
• Create a URL QR - This allows you to enter a URL, then it creates a QR code containing the URL. When someone scans the QR code with their phone, it will automatically bring up the website in their phone's web browser.

RetailMeNot Coupons, Discounts by RetailMeNot, Inc (free) - After trying several coupon apps, this one is my favorite because I can quickly find coupons for the store that I'm in.

• June 09, 2013 - New page.