Easy Price Compare is so easy to use, there is just one screen for making price comparisons.

The display is split into several areas:

• The quantity, package size and total price for the first item you want to compare.
• The quantity, package size and total price for the second item you want to compare.
• The results of the price comparison.

A price comparison is only possible if all the item details have been entered and the measurement types are comparable. For example, you cannot compare a mass with a volume.

Let’s begin by making a simple comparison between two different sized boxes of eggs.

• Tap the Package Size for Item 1. A numeric keyboard appears and a rounded rectangle shows which field you are editing.
• When a field is first selected, the value you enter will overwrite the current value. The first item is a box of six eggs, so tap the 6 key.

The # symbol indicates that the package size represents a number of pieces. We will use other measurement units in the next example.

Do not confuse an item’s quantity with the item’s package size. We are comparing one box of six eggs so the quantity is 1 and the package size for the item is 6.

• Tap the Next arrow button at the top of the keyboard to move focus to the Total Price for Item 1.
• Enter a price of 1.79.

It does not matter which currency you are using in your price comparisons, but you must use the same for both items. Your device’s regional settings determine whether Easy Price Compare uses a full stop (.) or comma (,) as the decimal separator character.

If you make a mistake you can use the DEL key to delete the last character, or the CLR key to delete the whole value.

The second item is a box of twelve eggs. Remember, we will be comparing the price for one box of 12 eggs, so the quantity is 1.

• Tap the Next button twice to move focus to the Package Size for Item 2 and enter 12.
• Tap the Next button again and enter a price of 2.79.

You have now entered enough information to compare the prices of the two boxes of eggs.

• Tap the Done button. The keyboard disappears and the result of the price comparison is shown.

Item 2 is better value for money so its details are highlighted in green. This tells you all you need to know in order to choose which item is best value for money.

If you want more information, the Price Comparison section shows that:

• Item 1 is 28.3% more expensive than item 2. If you could buy six eggs at item 2’s price they would cost 2.79 ÷ 2 = 1.39, which is 0.40 less than the price of item 1.
• Item 2 is 22.1% less expensive than item 1. Twelve eggs at item 1’s price costs 1.79 × 2 = 3.58, which is 0.79 more than the price of item 2.

Easy Price Compare can compare items with many different types of package sizes. Let’s compare two items by their different mass.

• Tap the Package Size for Item 1 and enter 850.
• Tap the Unit button. The keyboard changes to show that the current measurement unit is Piece and of type Number.
• Tap the Mass button. There are several different measurement types for mass and the first, Gram, is selected automatically.

If you only see Ounce and Pound in the list of measurements for mass, Easy Price Compare has detected that your device is configured for American regional settings. Please use the US version of the tutorial.

• Tap the Next button to move focus to the Total Price for Item 1.
• Enter a price of 2.99.
• Tap the Next button twice to move focus to the Package Size for Item 2. The keyboard shows the unit of measurement because that was they keyboard which was most recently used when editing a package size.
• Tap the Mass button and select Kilogram.

• Tap the Size button to change the keyboard back to the numeric keypad.
• Enter a size of 4.25.

• Tap the Next button again and enter a price of 11.99.
• Tap the Done button to see the price comparison result.

Once again, buying a bigger package size is better value for money. Item 2 has five times the mass of item 1 (850g × 5 = 4.25kg) but is less than five times the price.

If you need it, the Price Comparison section shows more detail:

• Item 1 is 24.7% more expensive than item 2. If you could buy 850g at item 2’s price it would cost 11.99 ÷ 5 = 2.40, which is 0.59 less than the price of item 1.
• Item 2 is 19.8% less expensive than item 1. Five 850g packages at item 1’s price costs 2.99 × 5 = 14.95, which is 2.96 more than the price of item 2.

In the previous two examples, buying in bulk was better value for money. This is to be expected. But what if you found that the 850g package size was available as a 3-for-2 offer?

• Tap the Quantity for Item 1 and enter 3.
• Tap the Next button twice to move focus to the Total Price for Item 1.
• Tap the x2 button to double the current price of 2.99 for one item. The total price is 5.98 because you are able to buy three for the price of two.

With the 3-for-2 special offer, item 1 now offers better value.

• Tap the Done button to see the full price comparison result.

While Easy Price Compare can tell you which of the items you compare is better value, you must also take account of whether it makes sense to buy in large quantities.

It is often less expensive to buy in bulk, but if the item is perishable you might not be able to consume it all before it goes bad. In these cases, the best choice is to buy a smaller amount of the more expensive item so that you do not have to throw any out.