How I used the Verizon Droid 2 Smartphone to Save on Holiday Shopping

The Droid 2 Helped Me Get a Deal on My Son's Camera

Well, the holiday shopping season is again upon us.  As much as a like shopping, I hate crowds. So I like to get my shopping done early and just watch everyone else scurrying around at the last minute.  I have been reviewing the new Verizon Droid 2 Smartphone by Motorola over the last couple of weeks and a few days ago, I used it to help me save some money on holiday shopping.

My son wants a new camera for Christmas and my plan was to spend as little as possible on a camera since he lost a new camera on a field trip over the summer (sore subject in my house).  If you read my review of the Verizon Incredible Smartphone by Motorola, then you know that I have a few applications that I like having on my smartphone and use everyday like Twitter and Facebook.  But since I had the new Droid 2, I decided to browse through the Android marketplace for some FREE apps that might help me save money while shopping for my son's new camera.

I installed two applications that I knew would help me locate items at the lowest prices.  The Amazon app for the Android lets you see what price an item is selling for a Amazon.com.  Amazon.com is a website that I always use to see what the current retail prices are for items. I also installed the eBay.com app for the Android. eBay is my go to website for finding the lowest auction price for an item. Armed with these two Android apps and the new Droid 2 with the slider QWERTY keypad for quick typing, I was ready to find a bargain.

I had a Staples gift card from a Kodak giveaway that had been sitting in my wallet for the longest time. So I decided to do some browsing in Staples and I walked over to the camera aisle to see what I could find.  I saw a blue Kodak camera on sale for $69.99. I had just seen the same camera over at Target for $99.99 so I knew the price at Staples was good.  I called over the salesman to check on availability and found that they only had one camera left in stock.

But I did not want to buy the camera without checking to see if I could find it cheaper online.  So I took out the Droid 2 to do some price comparison shopping.  Using the Amazon app I found that the online price was the same as the Staples price. I then used the eBay app to check on auction prices. eBay usually has far better prices than I can find in a retail store, but for this camera, the auction prices were again the same as in Staples. When the price online matches the price in a retail store, I prefer to buy the item in the retail store since it is easier to return if something goes wrong and it helps out the local economy. And I had that Staples gift card which would partially pay for the camera.

This story gets even better because when I got to the register, I found out the camera had a Staples rebate of $25 which I will get in the form of a gift card in 4-6 weeks. HOLLA to the REBATE!

If you are like me and prefer keypad typing over pecking out the letters on a screen, then you will love the Droid 2's slider QWERTY keypad. The keys are firm and make a slight click when pressed so typing in the names of camera models was easy.  I probably would not have thought to download the Amazon and eBay apps if I had not been trying out the phone so thank you to Verizon for loaning me the new Droid 2 by Motorola Smartphone.  Now this phone is a tool for serious on-the-spot bargain shopping.

Now I wonder what other Android apps I can download to the Droid 2 to help me with my everyday life??  Stay tuned ...

Disclosure: Verizon Wireless loaned me the Droid 2 by Motorola for the purpose of reviewing the unit.

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