One of the main reasons I started buying smart phones was because they are great tools for consolidating what you carry around. Before I knew the full capability, the reason why I bought my first smart phone was to get away from carrying an electronic planner and a phone.
Making my pockets even less full these days is CardStar. Almost every time I go to a new store they have a membership card to sign up for. After collecting about twice as many cards on my keychain as there are keys, and there are quite a few keys, I decided I had to do something about it. That is where CardStar comes in.
This app is a catch all for all of those membership cards you have floating around. You can even add library cards. With built in support for just about any loyalty card using establishment that I have heard of, and many I haven’t, it’s easy to input your card numbers for easy access. You can choose from one of the already know card types, or input a custom card. There are nine different barcode types to choose from when adding a custom card which will accommodate almost any barcode.
Once you have all your cards added you can select the card you need from the main screen, and it displays the barcode. If you turn your phone upside down, you can enter the gas/kiosk mode, which puts the barcode closer to the top of the screen, for easier access. And now you can store all your cards at home, and still have access to them whenever you need them. You can also go to the info tab of a card and get a link to the stores home page/member account page, place a call to their customer service, or press the store locator for locations (this feature is broken, and does not display locations near your position).
I would recommend this app to anyone carrying too many cards in their wallet, or on their keychain. The description in the app store says the next update includes “iOS4 compatibility, fast app switching, hi-res icons, cloud backup and much more.” The best part of this, in my opinion, is going to be the cloud backup. I have had to restore my phone, and most recently I upgraded my phone, and have had to manually re-enter all my numbers, which wasn’t fun. Another feature that would be great, but hasn’t been mentioned, would be to scan in your barcode with the camera.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Availability: App Store
Price: Free
Phorz
