Smartphone Software - Grocery iQ

Grocery iQ by Free State Labs

by Michael E. Callahan aka Dr. File Finder

Note: Since by definition "smartphones" are phones that are also PDA's, the software reviewed here should work with personal digital assistants that are not "smartphones". Check the operating system because I'll be reviewing software for Windows Mobile, Palm, iPhone, and BlackBerry devices. -- Editor

Grocery iQ by Free State Labs, is a handy application for your iPhone or iPod touch that makes it a snap to do your grocery list. What I like about it is that you can enter items as you think of them and not have to look around for your paper shopping list. This baby is loaded with over 130,000 items plus you can add your own. I really like the fact that you can also select Favorites which makes it much easier to add things you buy frequently to your list. In addition you can put notes for each item. This can be helpful if you want to remind yourself about something that pertains to an item. By default, Grocery iQ organizes your list by aisle. For many people that's a huge benefit because it makes everything so much easier to find. That's especially true for things you may not purchase often like toothpicks, or birthday candles, or turkey stuffing. Grocery iQ lets you add your own aisles, delete them, or even rename the default ones. I have to say I've used a number of "grocery list" programs for BlackBerry and Windows Mobile, but I like Grocery iQ the best! It has a huge database of items and you can add items of your own or edit existing items to suit your habits. Another cool feature is that the program starts to anticipate what you're looking for once you start typing. By the time you enter three characters it's already starting to pull up items that you may want. I also like the fact that it keeps a and that makes it even easier to to compile your Favorites. The screen shot shows the aisle feature and you can also see how you check off items you've found. Another really cool feature is the ability to email your list to someone else, like maybe one of your kids, and have them do the shopping. I love it. In fact, I like Grocery iQ so well that it's not only a Pick, but I'm also making it a Dr. File Finder Favorite and those are few and far between and this is the FIRST iPhone/iPod Touch app I've bestowed this one. Everybody shops and this is a powerful tool to make the whole process easier. Check it out, I recommend it.