Bit of an odd one here, we have to do monthly stock checks and rather than do them manually I'd like to use some sort of barcode scanner to make the process easier. The boss has an iPhone and we figured that the easiest way to do it would be a barcode reading app, but we can't find one that works the way we want. Ideally we're after one that will dump the contents of what was scanned (say just under a thousand items at each location) into a text file, comma delinted would be fine.

However all the ones that I've seen are aimed at people shopping who are looking for cheapest prices where the app looks them up online. does anyone know of one that would suit the task we need it to do?

Or we could just buy a barcode reader and hook it up to a laptop and do it that way however it's a bit bulky and not the best solution, although still portable and relatively cheap. So that would be the second solution if there isn't an app. Are any brands recommended? We're not looking to spend the earth here and would like to get something from Amazon like these

I can't help you from an app perspective, but there are plenty of devices available that will scan barcodes, save them internally, and allow you to dump the contents to a computer. See, for example:

http://www.barcodesinc.com/metrologic/scanpal2.htm

It would be cheaper to just stick a laptop on a cart and buy a barcode scanner that doesn't have its own memory, but certainly less convenient. I used these ages ago with a keyboard "wedge" interface, but it looks like USB is common now.

A middle option might be finding a battery-powered barcode scanner with a Bluetooth interface and pairing it with an iPhone or any cheap PDA. Then you could just move the text file it generates to your inventory system when you're done scanning.

As you can imagine, this is something that stores have been doing for a very long time, so fortunately you're not asking for anything novel. Some questions I would have for an iPhone-based solution would be how quickly does it scan, how accurate is it, how sensitive is it, and does the design make it comfortable for somebody to use it repetitively for a thousand scans?

Can you borrow two Android devices?

https://market.android.com/details?i...eexpproa&hl=en

The best cost effective bet is going to be using a laptop and a usb reader. The using of a phone to do this task will be time restrictive due to it needs you to take a picture and then convert the picture to the data. Most of my readers can read for a good distance and it isn't going to be hampered by low light.
You could also look into getting a symbol series mobile device although those require programming and fairly expensive upfront, ebay can be your friend tho.

Using a phone is more for novelty rather then production.

That looks interesting and something I'm going to investigate but getting an android phone or two, even pre-owned is pushing it. Neither of us are Android users.

Yeah I think we're going to have to plump for a barcode scanner, I'm looking for a cheap one now that I can get delivered this week. Some where I've got a PDA we could use if I can find it so that's another option.

Thanks for all the responses, having just tried an iPhone with a reader app minutes ago (I've just discovered that someone here has one) and I agree it would take a while with an iPhone.

Symbol is the industry leader and will be a bit of a premium, you could just buy a used one on ebay tho, currently use a 2208 which has done outstanding work for me. You may consider trying to write a small app with a number pad also so you can punch in a qty afterwards unless you are doing just solo scans, if not you will need to setup it a little differently.

What we plan to do is just scan everything and manually count and delete the duplicates. This should be relatively easy as they should be mostly few and far between. We've found a few that will do a scan, type the code and then press return. I can easily make that format work for us.

There are a couple options I'd like to add:

1. Not necessarily recommended for your use, but it is what you asked for - "CNS Barcode" is an iPhone / iOS app that uses the camera to scan barcodes. It is "programmable" so you can integrate it with FileMaker go, or maybe you would be able to use "Scan Multiple Barcodes" and then parse the output. I'm not sure what the limit on data size is for that option - if interested, you might contact the author. I have in the past (needed 2of5 barcode support turned on) and he was very responsive and helpful.

2. You could write your own app and use the zbar bar code reader opensource project to add camera-barcode-reading support.

3. Opticon OPN2002 http://www.opticon.com/OPN2002.aspx I have one of these and it could work for you two ways... 1, you could hook it up via bluetooth keyboard mode to input to your phone or laptop. 2, use it in batch mode and it will scan 20,000 scans and then transmit them from memory when you link with a computer. It is very small, light, and a good reader. See more at http://serialio.com/products/scanner...anfob_2002.php

It sounds like having a duplicate scan wouldn't be too concerning to you... if you are simply scanning unique barcodes (meaning a duplicate in the set could be automatically removed), then this would be good. If, on the other hand, you are scanning the same barcode (eg a sku or model#) and want to get a count on the # of that sku, then maybe a memory/batch scanner wouldn't be best... it can be hard to keep things straight, you can sometimes double scan the same barcode, and although there are ways to "delete last scan" etc, that is clumsy and difficult.

Older Win CE base PDA had optional bar-code scanning attachment and applications to store the reading to be downloaded later.

Yes - I've used a "Socket" brand plugin on a WinCE device.

Thanks for all the subsequent replies we have had a directive from head office that has now made this an academic enquiry We're changing how things are recorded and they have removed the ability to import from a CSV file into the system. It'll still be a manual count (where the scanner would have been useful) but includes duplicates now and has to be sent both in electronic and hand marked paper format. There is a reason for this is because some people weren't bothering to actually make a count and were just uploading the same electronic copy every time

They are going to audit more now and the hand written pages allow discrepancies to be recorded on the sheet, explained on the same page and signed off.

Thanks again for all the suggestions, I'm still looking at this but just not with the same urgency as I was before.