South African mobile shopping app PriceCheck has won BlackBerry’s App of the Year award, beating an initial 100,000 applicants to win the prize.
The award forms part of the BlackBerry Achievement Awards recognising the innovative use of BlackBerry technology, with the winner announced today at the BlackBerry Live event in Orlando, Florida.
“What is most gratifying is that users chose an app that makes a difference to their lives. Not a social or chat app, but one that helps them make better buying decisions,” said Andre de Wet, general manager of PriceCheck.
“The fact that a South African app won, demonstrates what I have always believed – Africa is leading the way in terms of useful, elegant and technically sophisticated mobile application development.”
Candidates were shortlisted by a BlackBerry panel, whereafter winners were selected through a public voting procedure.
The PriceCheck app provides direct access to over 30 million products available through online shopping in South Africa and over the internet.
Furthermore, the app boasts a Barcode Scan feature, allowing users to compare prices on a product via their handset by scanning the code.
“Mobile shopping is not mobile buying. Our app is designed to help people shop, make decisions and get the best price. We have everything from daily updated pricing on 30 million items to expert reviews on 130 000 big-ticket items like cameras and television. Our users are looking at products while in store and confirming that the product and price is right,” said de Wet.
Developed in South Africa, PriceCheck already operates in Nigeria, with plans to launch in Ghana and Kenya by the end of the year.
