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Amazon Releases Amazon Mobile, Includes Object Recognition

Submitted by Michael Johnston on December 3, 2008 - 2:35pm.
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Shortly after denying Mazo access to its API, Amazon has released an iPhone application which directly ties into the Amazon.com store. Amazon Mobile provides an interface to quickly search Amazon, read reviews, compare prices, and even purchase items. Members can access their wish lists, carts, and a myriad of other incredibly useful items right from the app.

The most exciting feature is "Amazon Remembers". The feature allows you to take a photo of a product and save it to your personal Amazon.com account. Additionally, Amazon will attempt to match up the photo to products in their database. If a match is found, you're notified by email and the app is updated with a link to the product.

In our limited testing of the app's item recognition feature, it seems incredibly accurate. Both product packaging and items themselves were recognized within minutes of their submission. According to Amazon, the photos are researched by a community of real people who match them to actual products. The process does take a few minutes, but having a real person at the helm certainly increases the chance of getting it right.

The app is available for free in the App Store.

Submitted by Hans on December 3, 2008 - 6:38pm.
that is pretty cool, i can't imagine how they are going to keep up with all the pictures people take. i also bet those people see some interesting things as people test the app...

Mp3

Submitted by youngbrammer on December 3, 2008 - 7:43pm.
Now all they have left to do is let us use Amazon MP3. If someone can get Amazon MP3 to work over Safari, that'd be awesome. I've been trying.

Submitted by Izzard on December 4, 2008 - 11:18am.
Shame it's not available in the UK store.

Submitted by sikosis on December 4, 2008 - 7:30pm.
Yeh not available on the Australian store either.

Another Solution

Submitted by mc77 on December 11, 2008 - 1:54pm.
There's no need to wait for Amazon's Mechanical Turks to respond to your searches. We have developed an iPhone app, Pricepad, that syncs your Shopping Wishlist, including photos, with the web. You can share your list with anyone directly from the phone by sending an email.

Pricepad is available for US, UK, Canada and can also lookup barcodes.

Submitted by devilsrule2004 on April 20, 2009 - 11:44pm.
this is a great app