ScanTorrent Features Numerous Trackers

ScanTorrent is an application that scans product UPCs, searches for torrent files, and remotely downloads them.  Like Torrent Droid, this is mashup app that demonstrates the power of the mobile, open source Android platform.  Torrents have changed the music distribution model for the better and I hope they see more commercial use.

To find out more, we spoke with Justin:

This was a lot of fun for me. I am one of those people who needs a little nudge to get things going and the “bounty” idea was just that.  The app, which is nearing its initial release, aims to provide a unique experience when dealing with torrent downloads.

A large part of my work has been with parsing usable data out of un-usable formats. With ScanTorrent, I wanted to work with a number of features of Android that I hadn’t yet worked with (databases, threading, web requests, and some others) and I think the results are pretty good.

ScanTorrent comes with numerous options that give the user a lot of power.  Some of the highlights of ScanTorrent include:

Torrent search results

• Search by scanning barcode
• Search by entering title
• Google Base product lookup
• isoHunt torrent search
• Ability to omit results originating from certain torrent sites.
• Multiple “Client Sites” or uTorrent WebUI configurations.
• Download history
• Search history

ScanTorrent is currently in beta and new features are still being added.  Not yet implemented, but planned are:

• Group results by originating torrent site
• Sort search results by seeds, leechers, downloads, etc.
• Support for legal services

The following is a short video demonstration showing how the app works.  Please visit YouTube for a higher quality version.  You can see that all the action takes place inside the app and the browser is never launched like Torrent Droid.  Also note the many different torrent trackers that are available for searching.

[YouTube Link]

ScanTorrent is not currently available for release, but Zerofate is looking for alpha testers for Torrent Droid.

Torrent Droid Home Screen

New visitors can read the original article, but our first idea we set out to create was a Torrent client for Android that could also scan barcodes.  The idea sprouted as a technology demonstration to explore the potential, marketable uses of Torrent files.  Even though Torrent files are sometimes associated with piracy, there are many commercial uses for distributing media.  We do not condone the use of piracy.

Several developers stepped up to the challenge, but Alec Holmes was the first to produce a working application and claim the bounty.  His app is named Torrent Droid and meets all the requirements we set.  Following is a short video demonstration of the app in use.

Alec had this message to share:

“This version of Torrent Droid is a work in progress but the video shows the core features work. The full consumer version will be released within a month. I enjoyed making this application, and look forward to releasing it soon! To stay up to date visit Zerofate.com“

(YouTube video link)

Call me crazy for uploading this to YouTube, but I wanted to show the app in use.  All DVDs seen in the video were purchased by me from Amazon.  In this short video I scan a DVD barcode, locate a torrent, and send the file to my laptop.  For speed purposes, I performed this demo over a local WiFi network.  However, I have also tested it over the Edge network and had no problems.

Torrent Droid Settings

Stay tuned to our site and Alec’s for further developements on this app.  If you have any suggestions, comments, or hate mail, please leave a comment.  We are also accepting ideas for our next Android Bounty contest.  Hopefully for the next contest we can atract more pledges and sponsors to offer a larger bounty prize.

Even if you do not care for this application, do you think the Android Bounty program is something to expand?

UPDATE: Torrent Droid is now featured on TorrentFreak.