Find in a Library through your Android Phone

Compare Everywhere is a Google Android app that lets shoppers and readers find and compare prices for a particular item at stores and WorldCat libraries in a given area.

Developed by software engineer Jeffrey Sharkey, the Compare Everywhere app won $275,000 in the 2008 Android Developer Challenge, put on by Google. It uses the WorldCat Search API to present more than 1.3 billion items available in libraries worldwide to the comparison shopper.

Once a specific library and item is selected, Compare Everywhere takes the user into the library catalog Web site to see shelf status and availability, for example. It also shows driving directions, a map and phone numbers for the selected library.

Sharkey's barcode-based app has been written up by sites such as LifeHacker and profiled in national news media such as NPR. It currently appears in the Android Market as one of the "top free" apps.

Compare Everywhere lets you:

• Scan any barcode and instantly search dozens of online and local stores, finding out if that "sale price" really is a good deal.
• Read product reviews, listen to music clips, and watch movie trailers with a single tap.
• Easily connect with stores and libraries in your area using driving directions or a phone call.
• Quickly build shopping lists, wish lists, and share them with friends.

Given the current economic climate, more and more people are turning to libraries instead of buying books, music and movies. Compare Everywhere helps them locate the most cost-effective option available, including materials in libraries.

Watch a YouTube video from the developer

(2009 04 17)