Google gives Android a barcode scanner

Internet giant Google has integrated barcode scanning into the new version of its Android mobile phone operating system.

The “Google product search” is a new feature for the operating system that will allow mobile users to look up information about a particular product, including ratings, reviews and prices from the internet.

“Today, barcode scanning works best for products like electronics, books, movies, or video games, but we’re working on adding more bar codes for other items,” Google wrote on its blog. “Of course, if your scan does not return a result, you can always type in the product name just as before.”

While the barcode scanner is not new for the system, it is the first official Google scanner to be made, and integrates with chief executive Eric Schmidt’s vision to increase the ROI of mobile advertisements.

Recent reports from Strategy Analytics predict Android to grow up to 900% during 2009, pushed by new applications and handsets from HTC, Motorola and Samsung.