Ever wonder what could be possible if your iPhone was able to scan and read barcodes? Well, maybe you haven’t thought about it until now.

First, let’s think about what a barcode does in the traditional sense. Most of us are familiar with barcode usage when it comes to purchasing something at the local store. The whole process is quite clever. We take our item to the checkout till, the cashier scans the item and magically our total is displayed. We then pay for the item, receive our change and done. The transaction is completed in seconds and yet we never give it a second thought as to what really occurred during this transaction.

As we know, barcodes are a series of lines and gaps of differing widths that represent a certain value when decoded using a barcode reader. The value returned is a number. Each product being sold in North America must have its own unique product number or UPC code. The UPC code (Universal Product Code) refers to the barcode format that is used on all products.

When we take our product up to the checkout till, the product barcode is scanned and a product number is relayed to the cash register or computer. The product number is then cross-referenced against product records containing all products being sold in the store. Product records can be saved in a network database or directly on the cash register. The cost of the item is retrieved and then used to complete the transaction. Talk about nice and simple.

So back to the original question, what if your iPhone could scan and read barcodes? And even if it could read barcodes how can the product number be used to gather product information? Fortunately we live in an era where just about all information is accessible via the internet, including product information. For example, the UPC Database website can be used to access product information by simply inserting the UPC code into the search box. Both Amazon and Google provide gadgets and web services that can be used to gather product information as well. The possibilities start to become apparent once we throw an iPhone or another smart phone into the mix.

RedLaser is an iPhone app which allows users to scan product barcodes using their iPhone. Product information and pricing is then gathered from different sources such as Amazon and Google. Picture it, you could scan a book and get instant reviews. You could scan a DVD and get an online price comparison. You could scan a box of cereal and add it to your grocery list … and so on. Check out the video below to see this app in action.

Pretty amazing, huh? It will be interesting to see what this sort of technology has in store for us in the years to come. It’s even more amazing when you consider that all of this is made possible due to a little thing we like to call the product barcode.