shopping

When it rains, it pours. The past few weeks we’ve been experiencing a higher than average activity with apps and the Windows Phone Store. Whether new apps like Pandora or updates to old ones, it’s been busy lately. Add The Home Depot to that list of updated apps, it’s just been bumped up to version 3.0 and brings a variety of new features and a refreshed look.

The Yorkdale shopping mall in Toronto, Canada has released an app for Windows Phone. It's a must-have for all shoppers who are making their way to the stores to help get through parking (or taking advantage of the valet service), locating favourite shops and finding places to grab that much needed bite to eat between spending all hard-earned cash.

If there is one company out there you can count on to make sure their products work across all platforms its Amazon.

Today sees the app get updated to the lofty heights of version 2.0 and that bump brings with it more region support as well as bug fixes and speed improvements. Read on past the break to find out more..

The Windows Phone Central Store is the #1 destination for all accessories and products for your smartphone. You may have noticed a number of articles are now frequently covering the deals and offers that are present on the store (be sure to keep an eye out for deals featured in the sidebar). We'll also start reviewing products listed more regularly to give our $0.02 on what's available from manufacturers.

A frequent request from our readers is for the store to be made available to a wider audience. It was both expensive and relatively difficult (if possible) to place an international order. Thankfully the team that runs our store (as well as the stores at our sister websites) has been working hard and now we're pleased to relay the news that it's easier than ever to place an order should you reside outside the US.

We're slightly late to the party, but Ocado (an online UK supermarket) has indeed released an app for Windows Phone. The advert found below, containing some humorous elements, walks you through not only a lamppost but the app itself. It looks awesome. Blowing the iOS, Blackberry, and Android counterparts out the water in terms of uniqueness and of course Metro UI.

As well as the functionality to shop, add items to your basket and arrange a delivery through checking out, the Ocado On The Go app features the following:

• An entire supermarket at your fingertips. Shop for everything from food and drink to housewares, books, toys and much more.
• Shop for groceries on the move. Place a brand new order or just add an item you've forgotten to your next order.
• Works in complete harmony with ocado.com. Seamless syncing means you can start an order on one and complete it on the other.
• Get your next order started in no time. Use Your Instant Shop to create a typical order for you, based on your previous deliveries.
• Shop even if you're offline. Our catalogue of over 22,000 products is stored on your phone, so you can keep shopping even if you lose signal. As soon as your Internet connection returns, your order will update automatically. 

Should you have any questions about the app, Ocado have set up an FAQ on their website. You can download Ocado from the Marketplace.

Thanks hwangeruk for the tip!

ShopSavvy was one of the first bar-code scanners to hit the Marketplace and it has quite the following, mostly because of its super "deal finder" capabilities. Sure, in Windows Phone Mango we actually have this feature built into Bing Vision, but ShopSavvy ain't half bad either.

Now with version 1.8, ShopSavvy finally goes to Mango, making it reach its full potential by giving it live-scanning ability. In addition, you can now pin new scans directly to your Start screen, which is a great way to (a) remember you wanted that item or (b) quickly check on internet and local prices to see if there are any changes.

The app's scanner is quite nice, using the flash when necessary and performing as good if not better than Bing Vision. We easily found the lowest prices for our items with little effort, although the local-mapping feature leaves a lot to be desired (despite being a good idea). Actually, one of the most useful features is the "Deals" area which highlights specials going for major chains like Target, Macy's, Best Buy and more.

Of course it's a free app and we're not too sure how it performs in other countries, but with the Mango update, it's well worth a spin. Pick it up here in the Marketplace.

The one thing I like about shopping at Best Buy is the ability to check in-store availability. The Windows Phone Best Buy app was released today that will let you check Best Buy's product line-up and check in-store availability while on the go.

The Best Buy app, developed by Chaotic Moon Studios, gives you access to the Best Buy inventory, weekly sales ads, and in-store specials. You can pull up product listings, check out user reviews, and check in-store availability to save running all over the place trying to find what your looking for. The app also makes use of your Windows Phone's location services to make searching for stores easier.

In just tinkering with the Best Buy app for a short time, I can see it coming in handy. But it would have been nice to see Reward Zone integration or the ability to purchase items from the app. Maybe, just maybe, these are features in the works for the first update.

The Best Buy app is a free application and you can download it here (opens Zune) at the Marketplace.

Thanks goes out to sasa for the tip!

While many use the old fashion pencil and paper methods to create grocery lists, ShopGlider offers you a chance to give up the ways of old an use your Windows Phone instead. In addition to creating shopping lists you can also manage recipes and coupons.

ShopGlider can be used as a stand alone application on your Windows Phone or as a companion for the ShopGlider website. From the website, you can create shopping lists and sync them with your Windows Phone. Registration is required to use the ShopGlider website but it's free.

Key features include:

• Adding items to your grocery shopping list on the go
• Online and offline modes
• Real-time account sync between multiple phones and ShopGlider.com site
• Simple intuitive user interface
• Full access to grocery shopping lists created on ShopGlider website
• Tight integration with ShopGlider site with its rich features such as multiple lists, account sharing, recipes, instant savings in 3,500 grocery stores and more
• Seamless integration with the site allows you to use a single account for the site and the app.

If you need a shopping list app, with an online counterpart, ShopGlider is worth a try. It's a free app, available here (opens Zune) at the Marketplace.