PoachIt review
Designed to help you save money, PoachIt searches the Internet to find the best current sales on products that you're interested in. You can scan in a barcode from a physical product and PoachIt will search online to see if there are any sales available, or you can manually do a Web search for a product you're interested in.
Pros
Smooth operation: Extremely easy to use, PoachIt presents you with a single icon for adding a new product to your list and then gives you the option to scan its barcode or search for the product online. Once you've added a product, the app notifies you of any current sales and keeps you posted when it discovers a sale on that product anywhere online. A "buy" button takes you through to the product's reseller page.
Good graphics: With its clean, modern, and flat look that fits well with the aesthetic of iOS 7, this app impresses with its interface. The icons are clear and easy to understand and the presentation of the search results is extremely well designed.
Accurate online search: For every product we could think of, great search results came up whenever we looked for deals. The results were almost always what we were looking for, and discounted too, being lower than the retailer's typical price for the item in question.
Cons
Barcode scanner: While this feature is a great idea, it doesn't work as advertised. Of the dozens of items we tested it on, only one returned search results online. To make matters worse, the app needs a long time to recognize a barcode, forcing us to hold the phone extremely still to capture it.
Bottom Line
PoachIt looks great, and the concept behind it is also great. However, this app works much better as an aggregate searcher of online sales than it does as a barcode scanner for finding deals. So, if you're willing to tolerate its scanning flaws, then this app is a good download.
