DEVONNE EDORA

PRIDE STAFF WRITER

As the fall season is in full swing, the holidays are fast approaching, which, for some, means Christmas is right around the corner. It is a time for music, food, merriment, and the age-old tradition of gift giving.

While this may be one of the highlights of Christmas, shopping for presents can also be one of the biggest headaches ever. Well, worry no more! From the developers of “Occipital,” comes “Red Laser,” a bar code application. The application is available in the iTunes store,http://itunes.apple.com/app/redlaser/.

While the application market already has quite a few barcode applications out there, the common result is none quite work as well as “Red Laser.” “Red Laser’s” pitch is “Red Laser–Impossibly accurate barcode scanning.” “Red Laser” claims that their application has a feature list that states “Red Laser” can “scan UPC [Universal Product Code] and EAN [European Article Number] and search for prices with The Find Product search, Google, eBay, and Half.com. Essentially, the application will use the camera on your iPhone and scan the product’s barcode, and, while it loads, will search your products for the best online prices, as well as keeping a list of all your scanned items. If that isn’t efficient, I don’t know what is!

This application is not just limited to price scanning. With the same scanning technology, “Red Laser” can scan about a hundred ingredients on any food item. This is especially helpful for those who have allergies because it will pinpoint just what they are. For example, “Red Laser” can recognize common allergens like peanuts or dairy products. As well as ingredients, the application will also provide you with the food product’s nutrition and calorie descriptions. So if you are an iPhone user, the “Red Laser” barcode shopping application can help you in a variety of ways, and save you some big bucks in the long haul.