Google Shopper not known due for other platforms

(Updated with Google comments) Google late Thursday rolled out a new mobile app linked into its search services. Shopper serves as an official rival to titles like ShopSavvy and uses the principles behind the Goggles app to provide an advanced product search. Besides scanning the barcodes for most products, Shopper is smart enough to recognize books, games, movies and music by their covers and labels. If it identifies an item, it can not only provide pricing at many common shops but detailed information and reviews where they're available.

The feature works with some Android 1.5 or later devices but needs an autofocusing camera to get the precision for capturing barcodes. Google hasn't said whether an equivalent app will be available for the iPhone 3GS or other platforms, although CEO Eric Schmidt just this week said that the company doesn't plan platform exclusives and produces other native apps where it can.

Update: Google tells Electronista that it would like to port Shopper to a "broad set of users on more devices" but that it doesn't immediately have plans to expand to other platforms.

By Electronista Staff