This week Best Buy has released its official Android Application. It's a rather simple design, prefect for those that prefer to shop in their spare time, or really at any time! You can purchase items directly from your phone, read product reviews and search hundreds of products as you would be able to from your computer. There are offers and more offers from this app, though perhaps the best offer is that it's free.
Scan the QR code below, or click it from your Android browser to download. [Best Buy Apps] Thanks, RamboDroid!
Big thanks to RamboDroid.
0
2
0
26 Comments
This looks pretty interesting app... be downloading that shortly to my G1..
2.1 only I assume? My Hero couldn't find the app, even when using the QR code. Wonderful.
Probably 1.6 only and above, that's what most are. Found it fine on my Droid and it's still 2.0. Hero is still 1.5.
Uh, no. MOST are 1.5 and above. The Hero was the best and most popular android device before the Droid and Nexus One were released, which are the only 2 devices running 2.0 and above. This app has nothing special in it that you need 1.6 for. It should easily be able to run on 1.5, just like the MUCH better Amazon app, the developers are just morons and have excluded somewhere around half of stock Android users. Barely any devices are running 1.6, most are waiting to upgrade straight to 2.0 or 2.1. But regardless, this app is not really necessary as you can find everything Best Buy has on Amazon for cheaper anyway, plus no tax and free shipping, unlike Best Buy.
I get free shipping at best buy cause im a "premier" reward zone member... thanks to having to buy a new laptop before i went away on rotations. The perks are nice, and it was free to join.
You're right that most are 1.5 and above but it seems a lot of the newer ones are just for 1.6 and above, sorry, I misstated that. I'm not arguing that they shouldn't have allowed 1.5, I agree they should have and they're dumb not to, I was just saying that they didn't have support for it. There's also no where near 50% of people running 1.5, it was only 27% in December and I'm sure that number has shrunk with the Droid and N1 being released and people switching phones. However, the "barely any devices" running 1.6 were over 50%.
http://android-developers.blogspot.com/2009/12/knowing-is-half-battle.html
Honestly, this app is pretty bad. It only has typed searches and there's only one featured product at a time even though there's scrolling arrows for more. I searched "Xbox Live" and a bunch of music CDs came up so their searching is not as good as the website either. I agree the Amazon app is much better than this garbage.
Quote from your source: "The above graph shows the relative number of Android devices that have accessed Android Market during the first 14 days of December 2009." Doesn't sound very accurate to me. You have to remember there were not that many Android devices on the market in 2009. And to make that number even less, I'm referring to ones available in the US. So percentages are admittedly a bad way to look at it. Hell the only device I can even name that runs 1.6 is the mytouch3G, of which the Hero is a MAJOR upgrade. I think it's funny how the Hero is better than all the non 2.0+ Android devices out there, yet it still runs 1.5 that's so old, it doesn't even natively support CDMA radio technology. Can't wait for the 2.1 Hero update, should make the Hero reclaim it's throne of best Android device on the market. You can't beat 2.1 + HTC Sense on the same device. Then that will be good enough to last us until the HTC Supersonic comes out, which will be leaps and bounds better than any other Android device out there. Snapdragon processor with 4G speed? Untouchable.
The G1 runs 1.6... yes, the OLDEST of android devices runs a higher OS than our Hero. Kinda rediculous we never got that update, but oh well. We can't change that. Of the CDMA phones (4) 3 are 1.5, as you said where actual CDMA support is missing from Android. HTC and Samsung should have released the devices starting with 1.6 in the first place. But oh wells.
CDMA Android devices use the patch/band-aid approach to get 1.5 to work with CDMA. Native CDMA support was first incorporated into Android 1.6. Sprint considered updating their devices to 1.6, but instead chose to update them straight to 2.1, which is a move I highly commend. Otherwise, we'd have to wait longer than we already are to get 2.1. Yes the G1 runs on 1.6 but it's stock Android. I'd MUCH rather have a 1.5 device with HTC Sense than a device running stock 1.6. Hell, I still prefer my Hero over the new Droid and Nexus One because they are both stock Android. Sure their newer versions of Android are much more UI friendly than 1.5 and 1.6, but no one even comes close to the level of integration that HTC does with their sense software running over Android. It really is amazing.
Now if only they could get miqlive.com working on android!
Okay this site is starting to piss me off. Can you guys PLEASE point out weather something works on 1.5 or not?!?! Or are you guys trying to hide from the competition how fragmented the userbase of android is.
Contact Sprint:
http://search.sprint.com/inquiraapp/contact.jsp
Contact Verizon:
http://www22.verizon.com/customersupport/contactus/
Ask them why they can't build a working 1.6 for their devices when 2 or 3 people on the internet can do it without corporate funding.
App works just fine. As stated, it's a little sparse, but it's a start. Since online prices are pretty much the same everywhere, and I get free shipping as well as reward points, I'll use it :)
Thanks for the write up Erica.
I've not found a single item EVER online on Best Buy that I couldn't get cheaper on Amazon or another site. As for major Android software updates, the source code is taken from Google, and then implemented on devices by the device manufacturers, not the carriers. The carriers only handle adding in any carrier specific apps, testing the new software, and pushing the update out to the devices.
....AAAANNND....NOT FOR THE ERIS
No landscape mode... Who still makes apps that cannot be used in landscape?
No Hero, Eris, Cliq, Moment love.
I'm tired of apps that don't support 1.5.
I'm tired of phones still running 1.5 =)
Whenever I pick up a phone running 1.5 and look at the market I cry a little.
Doesn't work in landscape mode...all bad.
{{-_-}}
As someone who works at bestbuy and uses the mobile site all the time (its usually faster than trying to find a computer that's working to access the site) I'm a little underwhelmed at this app. Not enough detail, and the search results are rather poor. Do a search for "ipod nano" in the app and you get around 20 or 30 accessories before you get down to actual ipod models.
I'll stick with m.bestbuy.com for now.
Because all of the tweakers, customizers, and generally "in the know" Android users all shop at that ripoff factory... Every time I have bought something in Best Buy I kicked myself in the ass 15 minutes later when I got home and realized I spent an extra 25-30% over Amazon or Newegg or whatever.
thats why its called supply and demand.... you get your item that same day. some people dont want to wait.. so either buy from Amazon or Newegg or whatever.. or dont complain that your gettin a item on the spot paying extra
Sorry but it's called "one born every minute". You have fun paying $80 for a $8 HDMI cable because you just can't wait a day or two. One born every minute.
F**k Best Buy. I will not support that store. They are a bunch of assholes there and their products are all overpriced by at least 20%.
Shop online like amazon.com, buy.com, etc.
No tax, free shipping 90% of the time.
Don't support B&M stores.
yea buy online because I love not being to ask questions, get it instantly, easily return/exchange, sent out if defective under warranty, support local business/jobs. Shall I go on?
I don't care if you're anti-Best Buy/B&M, but most people are willing to spend that extra 20% for those advantages. I've bought tons of things from Newegg and Amazon, mostly good luck. But it was a pain in the ass when I got notebook memory that was damaged.
Sorry, but I will trust the thousands of online reviews over the morons working in electronics retail. You're not making your case very well. Every time I walk out of Best Buy I feel like i just got screwed heartily. I've learned my lesson multiple times over the years. If you are so impatient and gimmegimmegimmenownownow that you can't wait a day or two then you are right in their target demographic: suckers.