First, let me admit something up front -- I am behind the times. I am not part of the texting culture because I do not own a cell phone. This makes me odd, I know, and I probably will own one of these devices sooner rather than later, but for now, I have to call myself what I am -- a texting virgin. Nevertheless, I read with interest the following article about a new initiative by Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN).

The article states that Amazon is launching a program called TextBuyIt, where users can get information on products by searching for them via a name/description or a UPC number. Here's the big kicker from the article, though: the author points out that people can, of course, do shopping even while they find themselves in competing real-world stores. So, if a hip texter is in a Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) or a Target (NYSE: TGT) or a Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT), maybe said hip texter might buy a product from Amazon instead of buying it from where he's at. That's the implication of the service, at least.

I'm not sure if I buy that this service will add much value to Amazon's current mobile offerings, though, at least in the short run (also, it sounds like a complicated task to perform). Thing of it is, when you're on the go, while you might use your cell phone to play games and acquire information, and maybe even put in an order for a stock or two, I'm not sure that anyone outside the most hardcore tech demographic would want to start shopping on Amazon via texting. I mean, if you're in a store, you probably would want to buy an item from a store, right? Plus, if you're on the go, you would probably want to just pop into a nearby store to buy something if you have the urge.

I see the value of brick-and-mortar retailers using texting to establish relationships with customers -- e.g., "text in an order and we'll have it ready for you at the front when you pull in," sort of like texting a pizza order. For all I know, that might already be happening somewhere. But, I'm not confident this will work for Amazon in the exact competitive fashion it envisions. However, I will acknowledge that it is something Amazon must nevertheless experiment with to cover its bases; after all, even though I am not currently part of it, we are in a texting zeitgeist, whether we like it or not...

Disclosure: I don't own shares in any of the companies mentioned here; positions can change at any time.

We comparison shoppers, the bane of big-box retailers, have some new resources at the other end of our cell phone to call upon in our war for value.

Recently my wife and I were in the market for a new television. I made use of a new service, Frucall. We visited our local Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) and picked the model we wanted. While on the showroom floor, I then dialed up the Frucall price comparison service on my cell phone and punched in the universal produce code of the television from the label on the side of its box. Frucall responded by reading me the price internet vendors would charge for the same unit.

The search confirmed that the Costco price was a fair one, and we bought said unit.
A reporter for the Dallas Morning News recently did much the same thing for a CD he was considering. By entering the UPC, he found that Amazon offered the same item for quite a bit less.

Frucall and Scanbuy Shopper are two sites that offer this service. They work differently.

For Frucall, one need not register or have internet access. One simply calls their number (1-888-FRU-CALL DO-FRUCALL, i.e. 1-888-363-7822), and at the prompt, keys in the UPC. It reads back the product sale price on other sites, and offers to connect the shopper to each.

Scanbuy works through an internet-enabled phone. The customer downloads Scanbuy's software, then enters the UPC in a browser screen. Scanbuy responds with visual data about best prices and vendors.

If these services becomes popular, expect big-box vendors to take steps to conceal the UPC from the customer until time of purchase. Until then, these and similar services can provide some peace of mind for major purchases.