Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2008 -- 6:23 p.m. -- at my desk

Yep. That Amazon. The Internet shopping giant which already had a pretty great iPhone-optimized site has now taken the plunge and become a full iPhone app.

And you can do everything you would do on the Web site, including quickly search, compare prices, read reviews, and make purchases. It's all there too -- your cart, your wish lists, your payment and shipping options, order history, 1-Click settings, and Prime membership benefits. All purchases made on Amazon Mobile are routed through Amazon’s secure servers just as they are on the web.

So basically since it's linked to your existing account, there's not much you need to do other than download and go.

But here's the kicker ... there's a new experimental feature called Amazon Remembers that allows you to use the camera on your iPhone to create a visual list of sorts. So if you see a shirt in a store that you really want, snap a photo of it and upload it. And if the service can find the product, it will alert you. Amazon Remembers will even try to find an product similar to your photo for sale on the web.

Obviously, there's room for mistakes in something like that, but for a free service that only requires you snapping a photo with your camera, well it's worth a shot.

Download it now. It's free. And with the holiday shopping season in full swing, it's a perfect time. I'm an avid Amazon user, but that's not why I'm mentioning this app ... I think it's pretty well done and I'm looking forward to trying the Amazon Remembers service.

Amazon Mobile is available now for free in the App Store.

Let me know what you think either here in the comments or on Twitter. Always looking for your reactions -- good and bad.

Thanks for calling.

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Amazon Remembers is apparently powered by Mechanical Turk. Neat.

SCOTT'S REPLY: I know! Tried it this morning and got something back in about 35 minutes. SPOT ON! Amazing.

I have to say, I am really glad you are focusing your blog more to finding hidden gems in the app world. Because -- and I hate to say it -- the other guys have you beat in general Mac news.

But one thing hardly anyone is doing is checking out the apps and telling the rest of us what to keep an eye on.

Even if I'm not interested in a particular app, I love reading about some of the different apps... I guess so I know I'm not missing out on anything. Plus, you're a little more real, unlike some other folks who try to be too objective and don't really say anything more than what is already in the description..

SCOTT'S REPLY: That's very nice of you to say, JJ. That's really what I'm trying to do. Oh believe me, I know those other sites have me beat for Mac news. Some of those sites have a full staff of people writing all the time, 24 hours a day. 20 people or more in some cases. Me? Just one. Doing my full time job and this when I get time. So I have to pick and choose until the day comes that they tell me that they are making my blog a full-time gig. But for now, yes, I'll do what I can to find the gems, report the breaking news and do everything I can to keep folks like you coming back. Appreciate you taking the time to comment.

Was quite pumped to hear about the Amazon Mobile...sadly not in the UK app store :(
[sighs]

SCOTT'S REPLY: Well, hopefully that's something that will change soon!

Hi,

I tried the Amazon app and was blown away. I took a photo of my blue water bottle and I got a reply within minutes and it was very similar...even the same color blue. I think they did an amazing job.

Cheers, Lenny

SCOTT'S REPLY: It is pretty darn cool, Lenny.

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