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Amazon Japan Offers Barcode Purchases via Camera Phone

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the disintermediation dept.

Zode writes "Jesse James Garrett reports that Amazon Mobile Japan customers can purchase a item with their camera phones. "Snap a photo of a product bar code using your cell phone, and Amazon Japan will give you a price check," according to Garrett, relaying from this article in Ketai Watch (Wireless Watch). Here's the English translation from Babelfish."

4 of 211 comments (clear)

  1. Available in America... by Barbarian · · Score: 3, Interesting

    ...in 6 years. That's how these things tend to go.

    also 4th post.

  2. Far Out indeed by Desiderata · · Score: 3, Interesting

    That's amazingly far out. It sounds like something from a scifi movie... but it could turn out to be useful. I doubt my camera phone can take such clear pictures (hey, I have trouble recognizing myself) but all things are possible in Japan. Just out of curiosity (the Babelfish article did NOT make sense) would this mean that while buying something at a shop, you would realize it's cheaper on Amazon? I don't know, taking into account shipping and the 1-2 days wait for products, I would just buy it at the store while it was right in front of me.

  3. I don't know how the situation is in Japan... by Advocadus+Diaboli · · Score: 3, Interesting

    ... but in my county you have to pay money to send photos from a cell phone to someone. So instead of spending my money on products I'm asked to spend my money on getting the price for the products? That looks quite strange to me. :-)

  4. Nice idea by lintux · · Score: 3, Interesting

    This is the first time that I actually see a sane reason to have a camera in a mobile phone. They're too crappy for taking real pictures, they increase the weight of the phone by 25%, more and more places are banning cam-phones... But at least now you can use them to buy stuff at Amazon. ;-)

    I wonder if they patented this...