We recently developed a mashup using QuickFuse and the Amazon Product Advertising API.  I have to say as an avid reader, this application is one of the most useful voice mashup we’ve created.  The application provides information on any product sold on Amazon’s site including customer reviews, ratings, and price. Also, for published material, it provides editorial reviews.

This IVR application is useful to me as I often shop at brick and mortar bookstores that don’t provide supplementary information about their products. Often I peruse the aisles of these stores looking for interesting titles, new books, or works from my favorite authors I have yet to read.  When I stumble upon something that seems worthy of a purchase, I’ll call the Amazon IVR mashup, say the ISBN number, and then hear reviews or search for other books by the same author.  Although I don’t always let a review sway my buying decisions, it is helpful to hear what others have to say about a book and its author before I invest my money and time.

In the past, I used my iPhone to look up product reviews, but I found the process slightly arduous.  My Internet connection speed always varies and it seems to take 3 to 5 minutes to access web pages that contain the information I need.  With the Amazon IVR mashup, I can get book reviews from Amazon in seconds.  It’s a very convenient process when you’re looking for information about many different products.