At its most basic level, Google Shopper is a price comparison tool for Google Android phones. You can search for products by text, voice, or by scanning a barcode and Shopper will let you know where you can buy the item online or in a local store and how much it will cost you.

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But that’s just the tip of the iceberg, because Shopper also features product reviews, history (for keeping track of the items you lookup, and in the latest version Google has also added related products and YouTube product videos.

You won’t find related products or videos for every item you look up. But when they’re available, videos can definitely give you a better sense of whether you really want to plunk down cash on that particular item, while the related product links will help you find alternatives. For instance, when I searched for the Eee PC 1005PE netbook, Google showed me listings for several other netbooks from Asus, Acer, and HP, with the average reviews and prices listed in the details.

Google Shopper is a free app that’s available for all versions of Android, but you’ll need to be in the US or UK to find relevant product listings.

Poynt is a mobile application that lets you search for people, movies, and businesses including restaurants and gas stations. The app is location-aware, and makes it easy to search for listings close to your current location.

Poynt originally launched as a BlackBerry app, but it’s now available for Android as well, as a free download from the Android Market.

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You can either search for a business by name or type. Or you can use the browsing functions to do things like sift through nearby restaurants by cuisine. Once you find a listing you want more information about you can tap on it to bring up more options — allowing you to place a call, view directions, plot the business on a map, or visit its web site.

Unfortunately the restaurant listings don’t appear to have menus. But if you’re looking for movies you can browse by title or theater. You can browse for gas stations by location or best prices. And there’s even a reverse telephone lookup function that lets you find a business listing by entering the phone number.

The free app is supported by ads in the search results, and you’ll find a fairly large number of sponsored listings in the search results. But you can scroll past them pretty quickly.

You can find more screenshots after the break.

via Android Central

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Google has pushed out an updated version of Google Maps for Android. As the company points out, this is the sixth update in the last six months. The biggest change in the new version is a new Places feature.

You can add a dedicated Places button to your home screen. Tapping on the icon will open the new Places tab in Google Maps, which lets you search for places near your current location. Or you can tap on icons for access to common searches such as Restaurants, Coffee, or Gas Stations. You can also add custom searches to this page.

The update also adds business hours to place pages, as well as other details such as menu links and parking information. You should also see compass information and distance information, letting you know how to get to those nearby places.

Google Maps 4.4 is available for Android 1.6 and up, and you can download the app for free from the Android Market.

Trying to find something to do this weekend? How about tonight? Goby can help. The app offers up information about all sorts of activities from dining to attending live music concerts to visiting museums or hiking trails. And thanks to the magic of geolocation, Goby will automatically find stuff near you — wherever you are.

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Goby covers every city, town, and region in the US, which means that you can find things to do near home or when you’re on the road. You can view results on a map, find phone numbers, and share activities through Twitter, Facebook, and email.

As with most apps of this sort, I’ve found that Goby is pretty good — but not perfect. For instance, when I searched for vegetarian restaurants, the closest it found to my home is 0.5 miles away — even though I live just a two minute walk from an excellent vegetarian sandwich shop. Your results may vary.

The app is available as a free download for the iPhone and iPod touch, and Goby recently launched a fee app for Google ANdroid as well. You can download it by scanning the barcode to the right.

A few months ago eBay launched an Android app for tracking auctions, making bids, and doing most of the things you’d expect to do with a mobile eBay application. The only problem is that it was limited to US residents. This week eBay took its Android app international, making it available in Australia, Canada, and the UK.

All available versions of the app support making payments through PayPal, searching for items by voice, leaving feedback, and viewing your “My eBay” information.

The company also announced that both of its iPad apps are now available internationally. The eBay Selling app is now ready for download in Germany and the UK, while the eBay for iPad app is available translated into French, Italian, German, and Spanish and available for download from iTunes in 77 countries.

via TechCrunch

The PriceGrabber web site lets you search for the best prices on all sorts of items ranging from gadgets to furniture. Now you can do the same thing on an Android phone with the new PriceGrabber App.

PriceGrabber indexes thousands of online retailers, so when you enter a search term the app can show you prices at a number of stores — allowing you to find the store with the best price, or if money is no object, then the store that you trust the most.

In addition to using the search bar, you can also hit the menu button and select Barcode to scan an item’s barcode. Say you’re in a store and want to know if you can find a better deal on that item you’re holding in your hand. Just grab your phone, scan the barcode, and figure out whether you’re getting a good deal.

If all of this sounds familiar… that’s because so far I haven’t described anything that’s in the PriceGrabber app that’s not also available from the Google Shopper app — also available as a free download from the Android Market. But PriceGrabber’s app does have one feature that sets it apart — a Gift Shaker.

Here’s how it works. You select a category (Books, Auto Parts, Cameras, etc) and a price range ($ to $$$$). Then you shake the phone or pull the on-screen lever and PriceGrabber will find an item that meets your criteria and show you prices at several stores. Odds are you’re not going to actually find any gifts this way… unless you really wanted a $13 book on weatherization and insulation and PriceGrabber just happened to know that. But it’s a neat time-waster that’s a bit like windows shopping across a few thousand shops at once.

PriceGrabber also offers mobile apps for the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad.

via Android Guys

Yelp has released a major update to its mobile restaurant search and review app for Google Android. Like the original Yelp app, Yelp 2.0 for Android lets you search for businesses based on your location, read reviews, bookmarks sites, and do pretty much everything you can do on the Yelp web site except for writing reviews (because Yelp doesn’t want short messages filled with typos). But Yelp 2.0 also adds a few new features that make the mobile app truly mobile.

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First up, there’s a new augmented reality feature called Monocle. When you click the Monocle button from the main menu, a screen will pop up showing you the view from your phone’s camera. Point your phone in any direction to start seeing restaurants, bars, or other businesses near you. The snippets show names, types of cuisine, distances, and average reviews. Click on any snippet to open the Yelp page for that business.

There’s also a new “Check-In” feature, which puts Yelp in competition with Foursquare, Gowalla, and other sites that let you compete with other users to see who uses the local Starbucks most often. I’m not really sold on the whole check-in experience at the moment, but as more and more businesses start offering coupons and other perks to customers who check in on a regular basis, I guess this feature could come in handy.

Yelp’s iPhone app already has both the Monocle and Check-Ins features, so the new update isn’t so much revolutionary as it is a step toward making Yelp’s iPhone and Android apps equal.

Yelp 2.0 for Android is available as a free download from the Android Market.

Google’s on a roll. Hot on the heels of a Google Maps for Android update, the Google Mobile folks have rolled out a new version of Google Shopper. The app was already one of the best comparison shopping tools around, letting you search for product prices online by snapping a photo of a barcode or cover art or by entering a search term or using the voice search feature.

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Now Google Shopper 1.1 ups the ante with local store search. That means you’re not just limited to seeing if that dishwasher detergent you’re looking at is cheaper online than in the supermarket… you can actually see if it’s cheaper at the drug store down the street. Tap on a local store listing and a screen pops up asking if you want to get directions, turn by turn navigation, view the location no a map, view the store web site, or place a phone call.

The new version of Google Shopper also adds support for UK merchants and prices, and a new links section with links to IMDB, Wikipedia, and other internet sites where you can get more information about products.

Google Shopper is available as a free download from the Android Market.

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Layar’s Reality Browser is an augmented reality app for Android and iPhone that lets you find real-world stuff by looking through you’re phone’s camera. Basically, you point your phone in a direction and choose the layer you want to use, and Reality Browser will show you icons for nearby restaurants, Twitter users, or just about anything else that can be plotted geographically.

Today Layar is rolling out version 3.5 of its Reality Browser. The new version doesn’t wait for you to open a layer or enter a search term. When you first launch Layar Reality Browser 3.5, the app will show you points of interest that are near you.

For instance, I installed the new version this morning and when I first launched it, Layar showed me a few local cafes and pubs, a Wikipedia entry for architect Louis Kahn, and tweets from Twitter users within a few hundred meters of my house.

The data is drawn from some of the most popular layers available to Reality Browser users. You can also still manually apply a layer find upcoming eents in your neighborhood, crime reports, apartments for rent, or other information.

Layar Reality Browser 3.5 is already available for download from the Android Market. The updated iPhone app should be available soon.

You can find more screenshots after the break.

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PayPal on an iPhone app

PayPal has introduced a new Mobile Payments Library for Google Android, which developers can incorporate into their apps. In other words, say you’re using an eBook reader or music player on Android and it offers the ability to search or browse for new books or music. If the developer used the API, you’ll be able to check out using PayPal.

The solution isn’t quite as elegant as Apple’s method for conducting in-app transactions. Basically if you purchase media while using an app on an iPhone, you’re billed the same way you would be billed if you downloaded media or an app from the iTunes Store. But using PayPal will offer developers a way to take cash or credit card payments easily just by signing up for a PayPal account.

Of course, Google and your wireless carrier dont’ get a cut of the action this way, but PayPal does.

PayPal’s mobile payment library is also available for iPhone OS developers.

via MobileCrunch