My key ring is stacked with things other than those pieces of metal that open locks. Next to my car keys, there are a bunch of discount/reward cards for stores like Best Buy, CVS, Staples, Borders, and several other retailers. Wouldn’t it be great if there was a way to get rid of that clutter?
This is an Android blog, so you’ve probably already figured out that I’m about to tell you about Keyring, an Android app that scans and stores club cards on your Android phone for later use. Account info on a card’s barcode or identifier is saved to the phone and displayed on-screen, so store clerks can then scan it at the time of purchase and credit the purchase to your account. By storing the information on the phone, users are free to leave their mini-cards behind.
Keyring is still in development, but preview images of the app shows that it may be a useful utility for people looking to cut down on their keyring mini-card inventory. There are 150 store profiles for quick access, and the ability to create profiles manually. The device works best with handheld scanners, lasers, and CCD image sensors.
The Keyring app stores an unlimited number of cards, including non-barcode cards that you may have from libraries or car rental companies. Froogloid is working on finishing the app so that it might be available in the Android Market later this month.
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May 7th, 2009 at 2:55 pm
There was/is an app like this on the market already. Unfortunately it did not work because the G1's screen is too reflective and the laser bounced back before reading the bar code.
May 7th, 2009 at 4:20 pm
Realy? I never saw it. Its a great idea none the less. I wonder if a screen protector would help or hinder the scanners read the barcode on the G1?
May 7th, 2009 at 4:28 pm
I doubt that is true, because there are also apps like barcode scanner that allow you to display QR codes on your screen so another person can scan them (containing contact info, urls etc.). I can't see a reason why that would work, but barcodes wouldnt…
May 7th, 2009 at 10:36 pm
Hi this is Chris from Froogloid, the company behind key ring. First, thanks for posting! This is great! Regarding the ability to scan a barcode from your screen it is absolutely possible. We've done some tricks to UI layout to increase the scanning success rate. Handheld CCD, laser and image scanners seem to work quite well but flatbed scanners have proved to be a bit difficult. Bottom line I'm sure you will enjoy this product and it will make your life a little more clutter free
Thanks again!
Chris
<a href=”http://www.froogloid.com” target=”_blank”>www.froogloid.com
May 8th, 2009 at 12:24 am
I took pictures from my membership cards but they cannot be scanned. The screen reflects the lasers beams of scanners.
May 8th, 2009 at 1:34 am
Barcodes have to be pixel perfect to scan. Barcodes are read by determining the exact space, i.e. white light light b/w each black bar. The reason it's not scanning is probably a combination of a couple of things. 1) your screen brightness 2) a distorted image
I'll post a video soon of scanning images from key ring using a handheld laser scanner.
June 11th, 2009 at 4:38 pm
FYI, Key Ring is live! Here's a demo video! http://www.froogloid.com/key-ring
September 29th, 2009 at 9:40 pm
Chris,
I have the bar code scanner on my phone that I use for Shopsavy. Do I have to download
another one to use for Key Ring? Also, where can I download a copy of Key Ring. Sounds
like a great idea as I alway have my phone with me but not all of my cards.
Thanks,
carol
November 29th, 2009 at 6:55 pm
Chris,
I have downloaded Keyring twice now to my Eris Android, and both times I get a message "no palm os keys-gtkr.pdb encrypted keyring file imported yet" followed by a dire threat. Help!
December 4th, 2009 at 2:16 pm
You installed the wrong "keyring" — that's one for importing a password database from an old PalmOS application named "keyring".
February 4th, 2010 at 1:56 am
I have a lot of reservation about how it can decipher the information and put it in the right fields. I have a lot of business cards from overseas, and they are of all fonts, and styles. But I was pleasantly surprised by CARDSCAN abilility to process the information and put it in the right fields. We may have to tweak here and there, but it is much better than typing in everything yourself. I highly recommend it.
March 3rd, 2010 at 6:23 pm
I have a Droid and unfortunately the application doesn't seem to work on most supermarket scanners, which are flatbed.
March 17th, 2010 at 2:49 am
Fred, I tried this tonight on my Droid and I kept getting the ForceClose message. I uninstalled and started oer fresh and got it twice more. About to give up on it myself.