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"Smoopa, a startup co-founded by former Googler and MIT graduate Mendel Chuang, has launched its price comparison, barcode scanning application for Android. \nThe app uses a custom built barcode scanner and a database of more than 12 million products to help Android owners ascertain immediately if they're getting a good price or if they're getting hosed. \nSmoopa users select their location \u2014 as sourced from Foursquare's database of places \u2014 and scan a product barcode. Once the in-store advertised price is specified, Smoopa compares it against prices from Walmart, Buy.com, Tiger Direct, Best Buy and a handful of other outlets, factors in online shipping costs when applicable, and spits out a green or yellow color-coded recommendation. Green is a good buy, yellow is a bad one.\n\n\n\n\nThe good or bad buy recommendation is what sets Smoopa apart from a bevy of price comparison competitors such as ShopSavvy or MyShopanion. The green or yellow marker is a hard-to-miss indicator that users can (ideally) have confidence in. The startup uses its own good price formula; the formula factors in price history as sourced from third-party sellers or inputted by other Smoopa others.\nUsers can optionally track a product and receive alerts should its price dip below a specified threshold. The application also features a history tab so users can keep track of what they have scanned and where. This information is also accessible via Smoopa's website.\nSmoopa's four-person team is based out of Boston and currently operating off a friends and family round of financing that, when coupled with affiliate revenue, should keep the startup afloat for the forseeable future. An iPhone application and additional features are also said to be in the works, according to Chuang."^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://mashable.com/2011/01/26/smoopa/>