Which cell phones can scan a UPC or ISBN?

The iPhone doesn’t have an actual “built in scanner”, there is just an app where if you take a photo of the UPC or ISBN or even the cover of a book, it will find it online for you.

I think there is an app called Red that will comparison price shop for you. From what @erichw1504 says, it doesn’t actually scan the code.

You really need to look carefully to find the proper App for this, but they definitely do exist for the iPhone.

It’s called The Find and it’s free. You don’t need the UPC code, just the name of the product. You then have the choice to have it search by your location or on the web.

It can filter by price, or by proximity to your location. It’s very well constructed and has come in handy many times for me.

Not sure about other brands of phones. Also remember that iPhone has by far the largest number of Apps written for it for a whole host of different purposes. At least ten times more than it’s nearest competitor.

There is also an App which finds a product for you in nearby stores to you just by it’s name alone. I’ve used it many times.

I’ll take a look at my Apps and edit in the name as I can’t remember it offhand.

@Buttonstc But according to the people above there is not a “scanner” on the phone, so if there is not a place to attach one, it won’t work well enough I think. I need to be able to scan like a cashier checks out merchandise at the register. If I have to take a photo, as mentioned above, I would assume it does not work as seemlessly as a scanner. Keying in the number by hand is not realistic for my purposes.

I’m not 100% sure that there isn’t one or an App that can do that. Why not go to the Apple site and check in the App store if there is one?

@janbb I plan to go to the store. I was actually hoping to find out about other possible brand options on this thread. As you see in the original question I am curious about any cell phones that might have the capability.

I know that there are several as I keep tabs on free Apps as they come out.

I have tried one but can’t remember the name, but you’d be amazed at how well that little camera works.

For me personally, I just don’t have that much need for dealing with UPC code readers.

Got it. Maybe take a look at the Droid too; it seems to be an iPhone wannabe. But I do think the iPhone is the one with the most apps.

I need to become more familiar with the iphone. I am going to the store in a couple of weeks. I think I will make an appointment ahead of time and let them know my major needs so hopefully they can demonstrate the specific apps. Maybe @Buttonstc is right and I will be surprised by how well it works. Thanks all. Let’s see if anyone else has more ideas.

In a blinding flash of the obvious, I got out my iPhone and did a search on “scanner” in the AppStore. There is an add-on app called RedLaser that says “Scan faster. Even without autofocus. RedLaser uses state-of -the-art barcode recognition that can read virtually any product barcode.”

Hope this helps!

@janbb Thanks :) GA’s for everyone.

@JLeslie My hubby has a Droid and we have used it successfully to scan UPCs and comparison shop. We actually left Best Buy and drove miles to a Staples at tax time to purchase software for a better price. Then the price at Staples came up too high and we used the phone to show that they needed to give us a discount.

That was the day I stopped complaining about the price of the monthly data plan. :)

Good luck with the iPhone.