14 DAY TRIAL // Vision Smarts has released updated versions of its pic2shop and VSBarcodeReader barcode scanning solutions for iPhone. The new releases, both at their 4.1 version, now take advantage of the video capture capabilities that came with the iOS4 update to improve barcode reading accuracy, even on older iPhones without autofocus cameras.
pic2shop is a barcode scanner and shopping helper software for iPhone.
With the app, users can quickly scan the barcode of a product using the mobile phone's camera and compare prices at online and local retailers.
Also, they can view product information and reviews for books, games, electronics, DVDs, etc.
Moreover, in the case of books, users can even check availability at local libraries.
VSBarcodeReader is the software library and SDK which powers the Pic2shop app.
It is available for licensing to developers worldwide who can use it to add barcode scanning capabilities to their programs.
The latest version is fully compatible with Apple's latest operating system and, same as the Pic2shop program, it can recognize UPC-A, EAN-13 and EAN-8 barcodes.
Developers who don't want to acquire a license can still use pic2shop as a free external barcode scanner.
The fast app switching capability of iOS4 makes this an even more appealing solution for developers.
"The new functions provided by iOS4 allowed us to kick up the speed of the barcode scanner another notch," declared Benoit Maison, founder of Vision Smarts.
"iOS4 also made it a lot easier to use pic2shop as a free external scanner, and I am really excited to see more and more developers adopt it."
Pic2shop is compatible with all iPhones running iOS 4.0 or later.
The application can be downloaded for free here.
The VSBarcodeReader software library and SDK is available to developers for commercial licensing as a white-label solution.