Thursday, April 20, 2006

Different 2D Codes Offer Many Ways To Connect To Net

There are more articles from industry analysts and consumer related services that are discussing how physical world hyperlinks (PWH) will be used to connect to the Internet using a mobile phone.

I will get excited when mobile marketing companies and website owners start to incorporate this application as a way to get traffic and interact with the consumer. To many, it's still a concept. When brands are informed to the power that a PWH has, look for mass adoption.

The physical world connection industry needs an agency to promote this enormous opportunity.

In the near future, Taiwanese consumers will be able to use their camera phones to give the tomatoes being sold in grocery stores a background check.

All they have to do is take a snapshot of the matrix-type Quick Response Code glued to the veggie, and the tomato's history - would be displayed on their handset screen

Hoping to give its wireless services a boost, mobile telecom operator Far Eastone Telecommunications yesterday unveiled its first QR Code-enabled handset, the Sharp WX-T91. Users could use their Sharp phones to scan the QR Code provided in the FET wireless Internet service guide and quickly load the Web pages that they wanted.

The QR Code has several applications from URL forwarding and electronic business card functions to coupon and ticketing services.

Measuring about a couple of centimeters square, the QR Code is, in several ways, more superior than the conventional barcode. (There are other codes that can store even more data) Unlike the barcode which can only store a small amount of data, the two-dimensional QR Code can store up to 4,296 characters, is equipped with an encryption and security code, is capable of 360-degree scanning, and facilitates one-click access to wireless Internet, said Nilsson.

"The scanner for the QR Code is simpler than the barcode reader," added Nilsson


The other traditional code formats are UPC/EAN , Code 128 , and DataMatrix.

Some companies like Nextcode and OP3 are creating their own codes. The Connexto code is easier to read, and contains a lot more information than a barcode.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

One 2D code I've heard of, PaperDisk, can supposedly store up to 1MB in a single symbol. I gather that that capacity requires a desktop scanner, but the company, Cobblestone Software, also apparently have smaller codes that work on any camera phone.

There are going to be a lot of new codes introduced to the market asit grows. I have a feeling that the winning code may be the one backed up by the best patent portfolio. People in technology are starting to realize that patents are a serious business, something they should pay attention to before they plunk down for a solution. Companies that haven't taken the trouble to secure good patents could be out of the running -- why take the risk of a patent suit?

No Name said...

Thank you. I have been sitting on these guys for a bit.

PaperDisk

You sound like someone that is in the industry.

I agree on the patent portfolio being key, but for now, the industry needs to place priority on adoption over litigation .

Anonymous said...

QR is used widely in Japan and it shows the promise of connecting via codes to interactive content. However, most potential uses need codes much smaller than a t-shirt. Because QR codes were created for use on industrial shipping containers, the inventors never thought about making them small or efficient.

As a result, in Japan typical uses in print advertising, business cards, or other applications require that the phone have a macro lens because they shrink the code to make it fit. Unfortunately, few phones outside Japan provide macro lenses. Therefore, QR codes would need to be printed too large to be practical for many applications.

Note that on the other hand, the mCode format from Nextcode is designed to be used with standard camera phones with out a macro lens.

Anonymous said...

Does Nextcode have any patents? If so, how long ago were they granted (timing is everything with patents)?