Cell phone apps, barcodes, and book sales

Somewhat related to my post here about barcodes and the new empowered consumer... I came across this video on NPR about an app for the G1 T-Mobile phone called Compare Everywhere. It turns your T-Mobile phone into a barcode reader that not only gives you info about a book but, more interestingly, it shows you how much different retailers charge for it. (I think there is a similar iPhone app as well.) This could be deadly for brick-and-mortar bookstores which tend to be more expensive than online retailers. But then again, sometimes it's worth paying a little bit more for instant gratification, no?

Check out the NPR video here:
http://www.npr.org/templates/player/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=98658952&m=98658953