The best Apple iPhone apps for Christmas shopping - group test review
Amazon, Posted, Bakodo, Gift List Budget Shopper, Postman, Argos reviewed and rated
Review date: 01 December, 2011. Review by: Rob Beattie
Christmas is coming, and the goose is getting in a tizz about what to buy for the rest of the gaggle. In this month's seasonal round-up we've selected the aps that deserve a place under anyones' tree this Christmas.
APP OF THE MONTH: Amazon
PRICE: £FREE
RATING: 5/5
Amazon really knows how to do its stuff. The online retailer's iPhone app is a miniature marvel, not because it does anything particularly out of the ordinary, but because of the way it condenses the Amazon shopping experience - your account, wish lists, gift cards, the shopping basket, recommendations, reviews and more - into such a small space without ever feeling cramped.
You can search for stuff on Amazon of course, but if you're out shopping, see an item and wonder if it's available more cheaply online, just use the included barcode reader to find how
much Amazon sells it for - then either buy it on the spot in the shop, or order it online from Amazon; it's brilliantly simple and means they can get you to open your wallet even when you're on another company's premises.
The only caveat is to make sure you sign out (and password protect your iPhone) in case some light-fingered type decides to go on a shopping spree using your account.
Posted
PRICE: £1.49 inc. VAT
RATING: 5/5
The week before Christmas is usually characterised by a tense will-they-or-won't-they-get-there-in-time? feeling, as we worry over last-minute presents sent by courier or post that are either right up against the deadline or winging their way hopefully to faraway places.
Posted is a neat, central repository for recording and tracking the details of packages sent via 116 different courier companies and postal services; it offers great coverage in the UK, US and Australia, but can also keep tabs on what international couriers are up to, along with those that operate in many European countries, as well as China, Japan and even Brazil.
Posted is simple to use - tap Add Delivery, choose a territory, then a courier, then a description of the item and its tracking number (if you don't have this to hand and you're sending the package, there's a built-in barcode scanner which will read it off the parcel) and that's it.
Posted will then push updates to the phone, telling you where your various parcels are - there's even the option to have quiet notifications between 11.00pm and 7.00am which merely update the app's badge. Simple, elegant and inexpensive, this is our parcel tracker of choice.
Bakodo
PRICE: £FREE
RATING: 4/5
We were fans of RedLaser until it was taken over by eBay and introduced such draconian
'you-can-only-use-this-if-you-sign-over-all-your-data' conditions that we looked elsewhere for an app that reads conventional barcodes and the newer QR codes used by some companies, and then tells you where you can find the same item more cheaply online.
Hence Bakodo. Just load the app, tap the scan icon and position the camera over the barcode so it fits inside the red square - as soon as the app gets a clear sight it snaps the photo (storing it automatically in your history list) and then displays results from Google, Amazon and selected other retailers (not supermarkets though which makes it less useful for groceries).
You'll need to remember to set Bakodo up for your currency and territory, but after that it works extremely well, covering a wide range of products and recording their details accurately. (Peculiarly though, the first screen of results always lists an inaccurate price in dollars - just tap through and you'll find real results in your chosen currency).
It's the QR codes that are the turn-on of course, because they can be used to store all sorts of
wonderful information like contacts, Google map co-ordinates, e-mail addresses and so on; but even before all that becomes widespread, this is well worth having. (Great icon too).
