Digby: Impulse shopping app for BlackBerry
Digby's shopping app for BlackBerry helps mobile users buy gift items like chocolate, books, makeup, and flowers. Convenience has its price, and a few design flaws.
Digby has partnered with well-known retailers like Barnes & Noble and Fossil to create a downloadable shopping app that lets you purchase goods from your (RIM 4.1 or above) BlackBerry smartphone.
Digby has done a good job minimizing typing and fast-tracking purchases with select retail partners. Simply scroll through the brand list, clicking deeper within the stripped-down interface to see items and special deals. You can set the alert function to nag you to buy a gift before an important occasion. You'll have to do much of that buying on faith, though--there's no built-in functionality to preview an item or research product ratings for items, at least none that I perused.
When the purchase is nigh, enter your locally-stored password and Digby will do the rest, passing the transaction along to the vendor to process. Credit card information is password protected and stored, encrypted, on the device.
The whole formula--clicking ease plus brand allure plus security promise--spells danger for impulsive shopaholics browsing for the week's deals instead of killing time watching a video clip or playing a quick round of Multiplayer Championship Chess.
But for a busy professional who frequently needs to order gifts like flowers, chocolate, wine, and watches, Digby might offer the right service. As long as you can look past a bare-bones interface, minimal product information, and a weekly rather than daily product update (the Digby folks' ultimate goal.)
To try Digby for yourself, point your Blackberry browser to http://www.digby.com/download.