Comparison shopping using your smartphone

Here's an interesting idea -- Canon, in the U.K., is introducing a wireless mouse, the X Mark I, that doubles as a calculator and a numeric keypad. It's compatible with either Mac or PC and uses a Bluetooth connection.

It has its own LCD display, so you can do quick calculations without getting the computer involved at all, or you can use it as a keypad to enter numbers on your computer -- say, for a spreadsheet. I could have used this last week when entering elecion results into a spreadsheet from my post at the county election office. The laptop I was using had no numeric keypad, so I was using the number keys across the top of the keyboard, which isn't as efficient.

The calculator keys can be locked so that you don't accidentally press them with your palm when using the mouse as a mouse.

No word yet on when or if the product will be sold here in the U.S.

Tracking number

My computer at home is six years old and has been giving hints that it might be about ready for replacement. Even though I was distracted most of the weekend by a serious family situation, I found a few minutes during the sales tax holiday to go online and order a new computer, figuring the chance to save the sales tax was something I could not pass up.

I was thinking today how a little thing like package tracking has changed the whole experience of what used to be called "mail-order." I'm obsessive about checking the tracking numbers when I order something online, and it's fun to watch the package progress from one city to the next.

I have to say that the Postal Service's package-tracking experience leaves something to be desired. Sometimes, the USPS site won't even show that an item has been mailed until after I've already received it. But my computer will be arriving by one of the commercial package delivery services, so I'll be able to track its progress step by step. I already know that my new speakers and surge protector are being shipped separately, and they'll arrive sooner than the computer itself.

When you know exactly what day a package will be delivered, it makes it easier to make arrangements, to leave a note for the delivery man if the delivery is to your home, or to give your co-workers a heads up if the delivery is to your place of business.

Mobiletag

I downloaded a nifty little smartphone app a few weeks back: Mobiletag, which is available for iPhone, Android, Blackberry and Windows Phone platforms. If your phone has a camera and a screen, you can point Mobiletag at a UPC barcode and the app will immediately read the barcode and look up the best available price for that product, online or at participating brick-and-mortar stores. If there's any problem with getting a good image of the UPC code, you can also enter the number under the code manually.

It's addictive as a toy, and potentially useful as a comparison shopping tool.

You can download Mobiletag through your app store or directly from m.mobiletag.com, depending on your operating system; more information is at mobiletag.com.

--John I. Carney is city editor of the Times-Gazette and covers county government. He is also the author of the self-published novel "Soapstone." His personal web site is lakeneuron.com.