Buycott app has been updated for Android!

[backscatter712]

This is an important app for smartphone users!

It came out a couple weeks ago, but the developers had some problems - the servers got slammed because the app went viral and made the news, and the Android app had some serious bugs.

Well, the Android app has just been updated. And when I test-drove the app, it worked fine for me! Looks like the initial bugs have been squashed!

What this app does is it enables you to scan the UPC barcode of any product in front of you, as you're shopping, and it goes online and looks the product up in Buycott's databases, to see if it conflicts with one of your campaigns that you've enrolled in in the app.

Campaigns you can join:

Say No to Monsanto
Avoid Koch Industries
Demand GMO Labeling
Equality for LGBTQ

They now have both an iPhone/iPad app and an Android app. Check it out here!

http://www.buycott.com/

[backscatter712]

1. Shameless self-kick! This app is awesome! n/t

[burrowowl]

2. K&R!

[hwmnbn]

3. excellent...

just downloaded it and gave it a test run on some items in the house. Works fine. I've joined 4 campaigns so far.

[backscatter712]

4. Even more awesome, you can create your own campaigns using the website. n/t

[hwmnbn]

5. cool, I'll check it out.

[East Coast Pirate]

6. Got the app.

Thanks for bringing it to my attention.

[cprise]

7. K&R

[bunnies]

8. yay!

Ive been waiting for the android version!

[backscatter712]

9. I'm glad to see it finally working!

[bunnies]

10. ugh. It wont scan a barcode!

Crappy phone-cam.

[backscatter712]

11. Weird. Worked for me. Do other apps like Barcode Scanner or Google Goggles work for you? n/t

[bunnies]

12. havent tried them. But I will.

Such a sad day. Phone sux at close-up pix. Damn things only about a year old though!

[backscatter712]

13. Hmm. When I use it, I hold it about a foot from the object with a barcode I'm scanning.

Maybe it's just that your camera's flaky, which would be more of a hardware problem, but short of that, I've found that I have better results when I have good lighting, I hold the camera relatively still (these are cell-phone cams, so you're not getting pro-grade photography), and I use the screen to sight the barcode, making sure the red line crosses the bar code.

What model phone do you have?

[backscatter712]

14. Just made a grocery store run and used Buycott live.

Some of the products on the store shelves aren't in Buycott's database yet - if you see one of them, be kind and take a minute to do a little bit of data entry so the next guy doesn't have to. Other than that, worked great! I also tested it on some known "bad guy" companies (I tried Bounty paper towels, and those got flagged as being Koch & ALEC products.)

All in all, a very useful tool!

[stlsaxman]

15. 3 * one star reviews in the iTunes App store... here's the best one...

"Amazing!"

This thing is awesome. It teaches you patience while you try to register 17 times.

But once you get past that it does this really cool thing. You scan a barcode and then you wait. And wait. And wait. And wait. Then, and this part is really cool, a box pops up and says "sorry, there has been an error."

Very clever. That whole time you are staring at it waiting, you are likely not buying stuff from companies that have practices you might find unacceptable. "

- only 3 reviews? ALL one star??

[backscatter712]

16. To be fair, they've had some teething problems.

And I sympathize, as I've worked as a software developer.

I don't know anything about the iPhone version, as I'm using an Android phone. All I can tell you is that the first version of the Android app had some "undocumented features" as well.

I'd say that the developers are working very hard to get on top of the bugs that seem to always pop up on the release of a new app.

[stlsaxman]

17. who, by the way, are the developers? why do they insist you sign-up to use it?

wouldn't they just be able to make it a search engine available to all?

the developers of this app would make billions by turning it around and selling it to Koch, Ind.

[backscatter712]

18. Most likely because they're crowdsourcing their product database.

There has to be some way of keeping griefers from poisoning the database with bad info.

Oooh, you have to give them an email address - must be rough!

[stlsaxman]

19. Heck, for all you know- this might BE a Koch Industries subsidiary.

collecting names like IBM did for the Third Reich.

call me crazy, but this has been done before, huh?

I can't find any on these "developers" and until i do i ain't buyin' in.

If it was me, I'd be above board and transparent as possible. Heck, i'd be PROUD to put my name on this app!