Amazon Launches Augmented Reality Shopping iPhone App Flow

Online retailer extraordinaire Amazon wants to become your steady real-world shopping companion.

They’ve launched a free augmented reality app called Flow for your iPhone. It works like this: you see something in a store, point your iPhone at its UPC code and a stream of information comes to you including product information, customer reviews and related products.

“This is our first step towards integrating product search technology with augmented reality,” said Bill Stasior, president of A9.com. “The integration of a live camera display, graphical overlays, and visual recognition technology creates a seamless experience for a customer looking to discover information about objects in their physical surroundings.”

Dunno. For me, the great part about shopping online is that it isn’t at all like shopping in real life. (Admittedly, not one of my favorite past times.) I don’t want distracting related products, stuff coming at me from shelves etc. And will frantic parents really need 3D views or videos as they race to find a suitable replacement for the LEGO Mindstorms NXT 2.0, hailed as one of the hot toys of the upcoming Christmas season?

The app screenshot doesn’t make much of a case for Flow either – there I am buying yummy hazelnut spread Nutella and next to it is an aphid and whitefly trap?

If you try it out, let me know what you think.

Via Business Wire

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Nicole Martinelli

Nicole Martinelli is a San Francisco freelance writer who heads up Cult of Mac Magazine, our weekly publication available on iTunes. You can find her on Twitter and Google+. If you’re doing something new, cool and Apple-related, email her.