If you like shopping, you'll love Splash Shopper

Database News - Wednesday December 19, 2007

COMPUTING ON THE GO

If you like shopping, you'll love Splash Shopper

PEE KAY

Disclaimer : I don't like shopping and I only do shopping lists for my weekly grocery trip when I have to. It is from this limited experience that I figured out there are two ways to construct a grocery shopping list. The first is to jot down items that are running out, one at a time as they run out. This way you have a unique list every time (ie, not sorted categorically). The second is to go through every cupboard/closet/room (including rest rooms and shower areas) in systematic fashion each week prior to making a grocery trip.

Either way, you end up having to create this very same list over and over again every week manually on a piece of paper. Splash Shopper can change that by managing a shopping list for groceries, and then some, on a Pocket PC.

The software will help you create and maintain a "List" of categories that you plan to shop for - from groceries to wine to CDs to books and more. For each List, the software lets you create and maintain names of stores that sell it as well as categories of the required items. For example, DVD List may have three stores named Store A, Store B, and Store C, with all of them sharing the same categories - horror movies, action movies, comedies and concerts. All of these items and categories in each List can be viewed all at one or only the needed ones.

For most people, the above features should be enough to create their normal shopping list. But for people who really need details, Splash Shopper also records quantities and prices of the items and then a total amount. And because each List normally has different characteristics, Splash Shopper also throws in two customisable data fields for recording extra information specific to each particular List.

For example, you may assign one of the available custom fields as "Aisles" for your Grocery List to remind you of the location of each item. Or you may want to assign author names to your Book List. The possibilities are endless. Such thoughtful features make Splash Shopper flexible and suitable for maintaining the whole spectrum of shopping lists.

The most stringent shoppers would be happy to know that they can assign a tax rate (VAT) for each List. They can also note whether an item is taxable, or is a coupon item. Prices of items from multiple stores can be tracked and the lowest prices shown. Impressive.

As a database application, albeit one designed for a specific task, Splash Shopper excels at grouping and filtering things. Quick List is another feature demonstrating this. With Quick List, you can create a list of ingredients for your Cajun shrimp recipe by simply marking the required ingredients from the grocery list and then creating a new list from the Quick List menu and renaming it. The next time you're in the mood to cook this recipe, you call up this quick list and know exactly what you need to buy.

With software so versatile and powerful, it's highly likely that users will enter a lot of data into Splash Shopper. If so, you can use the companion Splash Shopper Desktop to easily create and maintain your information on your PC. Better still, data can also be created in Excel files that can then be imported into Splash Shopper for later use.

I've been a huge fan of Splash Data since the time I was with the Palm camp. And they never disappoint. Splash Shopper for multiple platforms (Palm, Pocket PC, Smart Phone, Black Berry, and desktop) is available for download at http://www.splashdata.com/splashshopper/index.htm. (Note that I only tested the version for Pocket PC.) The software is priced at US$29.95 and comes with a 60-day money-back guarantee. If you have even the slightest demand to create, maintain, and use a shopping list, give Splash Shopper a try.

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