Best Free Shopping Apps for Your Ipad

The Apple iPad is certainly one of the major tech success stories this year. Even as some people continue to complain about the lack of flash support or USB ports, Apple has been watching them fly off shelves while companies create thousands of apps to provide even more uses for this tablet. The iPad sold 3 million units in the first 80 days and up to the end of September had sold almost 7.5 million units, just 6 months since launch. For those of us who like to window shop or like doing price comparisons, there are some great apps that I highly recommend for the iPad (some are also available on the iPhone).

If you have an iPhone you are probably familiar with some of these apps and also barcode scanning apps. The iPad does not have a camera but I hardly expect anyone to walk into a store and hold up an iPad to a barcode to get price comparisons from other stores.

1. Amazon Windowshop
The amazon.com website is a must when comparison shopping for most items but this app makes it even easier to find items, get prices, check the Amazon Marketplace to see if other sellers have an item new or used and to make purchases.
This app is the best demonstration of why native apps could very well overtake websites in some categories a the experience is even better. You still get access to movie trailers if you are checking out a DVD, can read all the customer reviews, access your Amazon account and everything else you would normally do on the website. Once you use the app, you most likely won’t ever visit the website on your iPad or even your laptop/desktop.

2. Bay for iPad
Most people used to think of checking eBay for used items on auction but that changed years ago. It is easy to find brand new items and simply buy them right away using the “buy it now” option.
This app succeeds in the same way the Amazon app makes you never want to go back to the website, the experience is just better. It is extremely easy to search for items, find related items, bid, buy, get details, add to watch list and accomplish everything you need to in relation to eBay.
No shopper should leave out eBay when looking for a specific product and no shopper’s iPad should be without the eBay app.

3. Pricegrabber
The recession has forced more people to start doing price comparisons but savvy shoppers always shopped around for the best price. Now you can do it right on your iPad.
The Pricegrabber app checks several websites for prices on the product you searched for and makes it extremely easy to compare prices. You can even buy directly from the app but the best feature is the price alerts: You can setup an alert to let you know when an item you want goes on sale. That is a killer feature for any shopper looking for bargains.

4. Kindle for iPad
While Apple has the iBooks store with just over 100,000 titles available, many people don’t realize that Amazon’s Kindle books can also be read on the iPad and they will even be in colour if they were uploaded to the Kindle store in colour (they will still be black and white on the Kindle).

For any avid reader, the Kindle app is the best book shopping app with access to over 400,000 titles. It is extremely easy to search for books, download them to your iPad (it also syncs downloads with your other Kindle devices if you wish).
If you actually use your iPad for reading books at any time, you MUST download this free app.

5. FastMall
Everyone hates going to a mall and not knowing where the stores you want to go to are. You look for a mall map and then realize you parked at the other end and have a long walk ahead and if you buy anything, a load to carry on the long walk back.
This app allows you to download maps of the largest malls in the USA, UK, Canada and France so on your next visit, you can know exactly where the best section to park is, help remember where you parked and cut down on the walking time.
Most impressive about this app is that it does not need Internet at all in order to function. Once a map is downloaded you have access to all the interactive features. No longer do you have to look for a mall map if you plan to visit a number of stores and need to know which direction to go.

Conclusion
The iPad is not for everyone but there is no doubt that it can be an extremely useful device for many people. It is light enough and small enough to carry around and use in places you would never use a laptop so don’t be surprised if you see someone using Fastmall while standing in the mall or comparing prices on Amazon while standing in Target.
All of these apps in my list are free and definitely add to the usefulness of an iPad.

SiliconCaribe.com Online Shopping Guide Jamaica

The Trends
– Best Free Shopping Apps for Your Ipad
– Four Online Shopping Trends in Jamaica
– What is F-commerce?
– What is Social Commerce?

The Where to Buy What Guide
– Top 5 Places to Buy Dancehall/Reggae Music Online by Dancehall.mobi + top5Jamaica.com
– Top 5 most popular items to make a bid for on a Jamaican online Auction SIte by Jamdeal.com
– Top 5 Gifts for the Gadget Freak by TechShopJamaica.com
– Top 5 travel deals for Jamaica online by Jamaica Tourist Board
– Top 5 Gifts for the Bookophile by Bookophlia