HandyShopper

Posted on April 18, 2009 in Palm and Software. - No comments

So, maybe I’ll admit that my “inner geek” was wondering if there was any other opportunities to use my Palm TX. One activity that I find constantly soul-destroying is the weekly shop, but once I’d discovered the Palm OS application HandyShopper I was intrigued and keen to find out if it could make the horror of the supermarket more bearable.

How does it work

HandyShopper is in essence a simple database that you populate with stores and products. Then, before you embark on your shopping trip you mark the items you want to buy as needed. As you wander around the aisles you can tick off the items and make note of the cost as you go if you so wish. Hopefully, when you get home and unpack you avoid that crushing feeling of despair when you realise you’ve forgotten the most important item on the list and that it’s going to condemn you to an evening of verbal abuse from your partner. Sounds good so far!

One Handed Mode

Now I know what you’re thinking, “is it really possible and practical to use your palm while trying to navigate the isles full of meandering shopper and over excited children while still successfully filling your trolley with shopping?” I was the first thing that went through my mind. I was concerned that there was going to be a real risk of losing my stylus.

I’m glad to say that the author of HandyShopper, Christopher Anthos, has thought of that. There is a cunning “One handed mode” which does a great job of making HandyShopper usable in such a scenario. Think about it, how easy is to use the old favourite – a pen and a list on the back of an envelope. I’d even go as far as saying that using HandyShopper is actually easier.

Remember those important items. After a few shopping expeditions you’ll have built up a list of most items that you regularly by. It’s then easy to review this list and have a high degree of confidence that you’ve not forgotten an essential item.
Conclusion

But that’s not all

Optimise your visit – buy recording the isle number that you found your product you can sort your shopping list in aisle order . I thought this was a bit of a gimmick until I tried it. I was stunned to find out how much quicker my visit to the supermarket was and as an added side-effect I found myself picking up fewer things that weren’t on my list as I wasn’t having to browse the shelves to find what I was looking for. I kept the cost of the sopping under control – something especially apt at the moment when so many people are feeling the financial squeeze.

You can have 100 stores in a database, and items can be organised in 100 categories. If this isn’t enough for you (and you must be some kind of super-hero shopper if that’s the case) then you can always create multiple databases.

Speaking of databases, HandyShopper is a database check-list application and as such it’s possible to use it for a range other uses and recognizing that, the author has included functionality to support multiple databases, to-do lists, checked lists and dated list.
Benefits

On the HandyShopper website there are a number of creative uses that have been submitted by the HandyShopper users. These include:

• Aromatherapy blends
• Book Lists
• Collections
• Furniture Shopping
• Gift Idea/Shopping List
• Home Chores List
• Home Improvement Projects
• Impulse Purchases
• Karate Training
• Movies, Orders
• Packing List
• Project task lists
• Reading List with Calculated Priorities
• Recipe Database
• Remodelling a House
• Restaurants
• Software List
• Training
• Wine Database!

Some of these work better than others, but you can see from this list that HandyShopper is flexible enough to facilitate a wide range of creative uses.

Conclusion

My only real problem is nothing to do with HandyShopper but more about the difficulty of shopping with a Palm in one hand. but that isn’t to much to do with HandyShopper which does an admirable job with it’s one-handed mode. The real issue is to do with the Palm hard case that I use. It’s hardly a comfort to hold when it’s open.

The real test for HandyShopper is whether you continue to use it once the novelty has worn off, week after week. I’m happy to say that I discovered HandyShopper Many months ago and I’m still using it now.

If you want to find out more check out the HandyShopper Users Group on Yahoo or the HandyShopper Wiki or even Chris Antos’ Official HandyShopper website.

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