Why You Can Trust CNET Amazon Mobile review: Amazon Mobile
Amazon's flagship shopping app gives you most of the shopping features available on the megaretailer's Web site.
With Amazon Mobile for Android, users can shop the online megaretailer's enormous catalog of items while on the go. Much like the full Web site, the mobile app lets you browse by department, compare prices, read reviews, and more. Plus, it lets you share items you find via Android's share menu.
Amazon Mobile
The Good
The Bad
The Bottom Line
Right off the bat, Amazon Mobile lets you conduct product searches or browse by department, even without signing in. It lets you see product pages, share, even add items to a shopping cart. But beyond that, not much else, unless of course you create a new account or sign in to an existing Amazon account. Once you're in, you can make purchases, access your wish list and shopping list, and see recommendations based on your browsing and purchase history. Also, with an account, you can easily see your open orders and access your synced shopping cart from your desktop computer or other mobile devices. Signing in with an account is the only way to get the most of the Amazon Mobile app.
The search function on Amazon Mobile is even more powerful than that on the full Web site. It lets you search by keyword (just like the site does), as well as by bar code or photo (both unique to the mobile app). The built-in bar code reader does its job perfectly, so long as you have ample light to fill your camera lens and you don't hold your phone too close to the bar code. Meanwhile, the Photo Search function is unique, and works surprisingly well. While the app does say that Photo Search works best on books, DVDs, CDs, and video games, I was able to successfully find a can of almonds on Amazon, based on a photo I took with my Android camera. Interestingly, Amazon Mobile does not have voice search, while its sister app Amazon Price Check has the feature front and center.
The browsing experience on the newest version of Amazon Mobile is very close to that on Amazon.com. You can browse by department and sub-department, and within each level, you can conduct a targeted keyword search. There are also tons of filters you can enable, if you want to get even more granular.
If you're an Amazon-fanatic, looking to do some shopping while on the go, then Amazon Mobile is a must-download. The retailer's flagship shopping app performs well, is easy to use, and supports most (but not all) of Amazon.com's shopping functions. Unfortunately, if you're looking for some of Amazon's more specialized functions like Amazon Appstore purchases, Kindle downloads, or Textbook Buyback, you'll have to install one of Amazon's other official apps, either from the Web site or from Google Play.