Cell Phones and Comparison Shopping

Have you ever been shopping and wondered if the price you were about to pay for a new computer or digital camera or even a cell phone was the best price available?

With online shopping, we've grown accustomed to instantly comparing prices. Indeed, the beauty of online shopping is not just simplicity but also the ability to easily, with barely a flick of the mouse, compare and contrast features and prices.

But there are still items we want to buy in person and you can't really lug your computer with you to check prices quickly in line. That's why some tech-savvy cell phone users are starting to whip out their wireless phones to comparison shop on location so they don't have to wait until they return home to peruse prices.

If you have a Web-enabled phone, you can execute a quick Google search on products and prices. But that can be clunky and take several minutes.

There are also a host of wireless services -- mostly free -- that give you rapid access to prices without having to navigate the Internet on the small cell phone screen.

• Mobsaver at mobsaver.com lets you compare prices from Amazon and eBay while you are out shopping. You simply text the UPC code or ISBN number to a mobsaver.com email address to receive new and used prices directly on your phone.


• There's also smarter.com/sms. The site operates under a similar principal. Enter and save a phone number for Smarter on your cell phone. Then next time you're in a store, send a text message to that number with the product part number. It will respond within about a minute with the lowest price available online.


• Visit Ringfo at ringfo.com. With this service, you dial a phone number, enter the product number using the keypad and then listen for new and used prices, customer ratings and information on similar items. Amazon provides the product information for the service.


• Check out TicTap.com too. With TicTap you can either send a text message with the product information to a TicTap number or you can access the TicTap service on a PDA or Smartphone. Using those types of phones, you can access Web pages optimized for mobile viewing. You can also ask TicTap for recommendations on products similar to the one you are looking for. In addition, TicTap will save all your results so you can view them later.


• Finally, take a look at UpSnap at upsnap.com. It offers a text message service that lets you request price comparisons by inputting, for instance, "p ipod nano."

Mobile comparison shopping is just beginning as a service but is shaping up to be a huge market, said Steve Hoffman, chief operating officer for Zannel, a mobile entertainment company and an expert on the mobile business.

"Most people want to know if they're getting a good deal or not, and the computer they have with them is their phone," he said. "Mobile comparison shopping makes sense for large ticket items, like cars, appliances, consumer electronics, etc."

Consumers would likely use such a service for items over $100. Less pricey items aren't usually worth the time to comparison shop for. He expects more consumers to use mobile shopping over the next few years as they upgrade to phones with broadband access.

"I see this happening as early as 2008, but most likely in 2009," he said.