So basically behind the scenes they are really only doing a google search within the site?
Google search [www.bestbuy.com: karate kid DVD] will return the karate kid DVD and price from best buy. I don't understand why I should want to pay for this?
There's actually a lot more to it than that! For some services like Amazon and Yelp, we hook into APIs for quick retrieval/display of data. For others, we pull back data content from RSS feeds. And for others, like BestBuy, we do pass along parameters to their web services. It varies from service to service. But trust me, there's a lot of tech behind the app!
also, the interface is optimized for speed and convenience. you can type 'www.bestbuy.com' into your iphone, but given the choice, our feeling is that many people will prefer to use an app that minimizes typing and maximizes speed.