People say that mobile devices will be the key platform of the future, but there are quite a few things you can do already with good old SMS. The launch of Mobsaver this week got me looking around at a number of similar services for price comparison by text message and here’s what I found. Even with a web enabled mobile device, being able to quickly send a text message to one contact number and get information back from a variety of sources is very appealing. These services are smart, simple uses of affiliate links, APIs and ubiquitous mobile devices. The short reviews below appear in order of my most to least favorite ones. There are other options that work outside the US, but for this write up I tried only systems that work in the US or return prices in US dollars.
TicTap
TicTap will accept messages containing UPC codes, ISBN numbers or search keywords. When I searched for a particular audio CD, TicTap sent me back new and used prices on Amazon, the number of reviews that have been written there and the average number of stars given by reviewers of the CD.
TicTap can also be asked for recommendations of products similar to the one you are looking at just by putting the letter r in front of the item’s number. Your search results are all saved on a page tied to your mobile number and on that page you can request that an email alert be sent to you if an item falls below a price you set. Your searches can be viewed later by RSS, meaning you don’t have to log in or check on the system’s page for your account. TicTap says that its prices are synched with Amazon every 24 hours, so I don’t know how well the alerts would work for high demand products, but it’s interesting none the less.
I’m also encouraged by the fact that this service is in active development, having just released a WordPress plug in for contextual advertising, for example.
MobSaver
MobSaver got me thinking about all these types of tools and it’s got a lot going for it. Its very simple and usable, though it doesn’t seem to work well with Verizon (Verizon’s fault, it appears). An ISBN or UPC message to MobSaver will bring back results from both Amazon and eBay. New and used prices are returned from Amazon and the range of prices currently available from eBay.
Smarter
Smarter searches by product model numbers. That could be confusing. I couldn’t get any results back from this service. I wish they would just use UPC codes like the two above. This is only one of many services this site provides.
Other options
Two other options I found were UpSnap, which appeared to return a list of local stores related to my search terms, and Scanbuy Shopper, which requires software to be downloaded. I like the ability to SMS one contact in my phone and quickly get back helpful information.
Ringfo does a text to speech search in Amazon by phone call. It’s funny to hear a robot say “be sure to check Ringfo for a list of your items,” to remind me to click the affiliate links.
I would love to be able to search Craigslist by SMS, but at a certain point it makes more sense to use a mobile device with a browser. This is a very logical way to combine affiliate links with ubiquitous mobile phones and I expect that increasingly sophisticated services will become available if services like these prove able to make a profit.
One risk, of course, is that users will cost the services the price of sending the SMS messages and will then buy online directly without using the affiliate links provided by the services above. That makes it all the more imperative for them to add extra value to their services, like the email price alerts and who knows what else in the future, that will bring shoppers back to the service they texted.
For more mobile coverage, make sure to check out MobileCrunch.
Comments
Now if they could only make outgoing text messaging free…at least at my cell provider.
Hi Marshall,
Verizon allows for the creation of text message nicknames.
If you did create one, you will need to enter that nickname instead of your mobile number to sign in.
The sign in page indicates this now.
Michael
We’ll be doing this very thing with at Grocio.com… comparison shopping for groceries. Just announced is this past weekend!
What about Google SMS: http://www.google.com/sms/
411Sync lets users do searches for prices and many other things. It has a way that anyone can register searches and have mashups to their favorite API like SimplyHired, Craigslist, HotOrNot, etc.
http://www.411Sync.com
We just released buddy lists for our text message reminder service.
bitBomb.com
Look for the 2.0 links.
Frucall has been doing the same for some time now. We let the user to call in and enter product barcode. So even if the user is not comfortable with SMS, it’s still accessible to them - it’s just a phone call. We use SMS mostly for sending the information out.
There’s also Froogle — http://wml.froogle.com or text message froogle [query] to GOOGL.
4INFO Price Comparison: Search by product name, UPC, or keyword to access the Shopping.com database of items. Learn more at http://4info.net/howto/price.jsp:
I take this opportunity to introduce Cellent to you
Cellent is a mobile data company headquartered in India.
Cellent maintains strategic partnerships with numerous global carriers and has alliances & partners in Africa, Middle East, APAC, Europe, India, Turkey, Egypt, Singapore, Jordan, Tanzania, Pakistan, South Africa, UK, Germany, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to name a few. With the help of these alliances and infrastructure, Cellent is in position to provide high quality mobile data services and solutions for its customers globally.
We are looking for:
Global SMS delivery services:
We have a Global SMS delivery platform for international SMS messaging terminations into over 120 countries. We do extensive business in the middle east already and clients include Showtime Arabia, Pehla Plus, Emirates Call, Media Call to name a few.
Content platform:
We have a state of the art content platform which supports all content categories from operator logos to video clips for all devices, all formats of mobile content. This platform also supports DRM and OMA download specifications for better quality of service for mobile content download services and helps our customers deal with specialists to handle the ever increasing complexity and evolution of the mobile content marketplace.
Content Production Services:
We have a Content Production Outsourcing (CPO) outfit which comprises of telecom experts, musicians and interactive media specialists performing mobile production needs for a global customer base to mobilize content.
Global non-exclusive license for distribution of your mobile content
Our ever evolving content library can be added to your existing library and than we can help each other through our distribution channels to widen our scope.
We help in B2B business as well as we can be partners for marketing promotions through our wide distribution channel
We think there a several synergies which exist and are worth exploring. I could list a few benefits we can offer
· Established Mobile operator relationships
· Our Global Distribution
· Domain expertise and technical capabilities.
· Content production, development and Factory.
· Operations and Service Management.
· Content distribution system (CDS)
I would particularly be interested in discussing Global SMS Delivery services with you as and when possible
Looking forward to hear from you soon , Please feel free to IM me on
MSN-pinakint@hotmail.com
ICQ -3670836
Yahoo-piniewinie@yahoo.com
Skype-smspinie
Thanking You,
Pinakin
Pinakin Thakkar
Cellent
M: + 91 98218 76981
107/108, Mittal Chambers,
Nariman Point,
Bombay - 400 021, India
T: +91 22 2281 3137/8
F: +91 22 2286 0392
http://www.cellent.com
Hi! Im trying to build a database with different products and what they cost in different countries! Could you please help me out! Just add a product or two and tell your friends to do the same and this could become something really cool!
Forgive my ignorance, but what is the business model for MobSaver?
Do providers give them a cut from every SMS message?
It’s such an interesting concept. I think all services will go this route soon!
thanks
Leave Comment
Commenting Options
Enter your personal information to the left, or sign in with your Facebook account by clicking the button below.
Alternatively, you can create an avatar that will appear whenever you leave a comment on a Gravatar-enabled blog.