Digital lifestyles

25th Sep 2009 A passion and truth by Rebecca

Photo by centralasian

Whether you are following GPS directions on your mobile phone or snapping photos of barcodes for discounts, there is no denying that the new digital is all around us.

I've always been one for a bargain, so when buying a digital camera recently I hunted around, comparison shopping online and in store. I ended up in a high street store and having found the camera I wanted I was in bartering mode. I had found that the store had a price matching policy and suddenly had a brainwave. I hadn't brought printouts of my previous research with me, but i did have my mobile. Quick as a flash, I found sites selling the same camera at a cheaper price and was able to save over a tenner from my bill, as well as getting a case and memory card thrown in.

I'm not alone. Consumers now have more control at their fingertips than ever before. With the advent of uber-cool applications such as price comparison tool Snaptell which gives the user reviews and the best prices, there is even more excitement to come where the technology extends to include place identification. Applications using mobile GPS integration and 'augmented reality' could become very interesting marketing tools.

I first heard of augmented reality in April of this year at Internet World and, thanks to a host of press coverage from new applications, it is one of Twitter's top ten trending topics today. It is no surprise that the pace is quickening; reports suggest that this intrinsic to how are reality is becoming, rather than just a passing fad. Augmented reality is centred around making geographical locations - key points like petrol stations and public transport hubs - easier to find, and improve the user journey, literally, through integration of internet or GPS based information as a visual layer over the camera's lens. Yesterday, BlackBerry also promoted geotagging of photos, via GPS software. Surely it is just a matter of time before consumers will be able to tie this up to find the ideal product, locate the cheapest price and get directions to where to find it, all in a mobile minute.

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