Almost a year ago to the day, I wrote a short blog about 2D barcode readers for the iPhone, and today I've just downloaded the best one yet, albeit it only reads one type; the QRcode.
With 3 different types of barcode reader installed on my iPhone, I think I'm fully prepared for the mobile barcode revolution to begin...... er what revolution??
I don't get it, with such a huge amount of phones being capable of running the barcode reader, why don't more Brands and publishers use it?? Especially publishers, it's the perfect link between the printed magazine and rich interactive content. There you are, anywhere, reading a mag, and next to the riveting article there is this small barcode, which with almost one click takes you to some kind of additional rich content; video maybe, or audio, exclusive too, stuff you might even pay extra for, could be an associated competition, or a quiz.
I'm sure a lot of people that read a magazine do so on the train, or bus, even the bog, and they don't have (or want to get out) their laptop. But they do have their mobile device, so its perfect, immediate access to exclusive complementary content, that could have great ROI, and extend the usefulness of the printed publication as well.
2 comments:
Thanks for this post, Alistair - I sure do feel we're making good strides into the pole position of the 2D code market.
A small factual correction, if I may - the i-nigma reader for iPhone reads Datamatrix equally well as QRcode, and moreover, we also read EAN 1D ("supermarket") codes on the iPhone 3Gs.
Best,
Mendy Mendelsohn
http://www.3GVision.com
I downloaded the i-nigma reader after hearing about it on the gadget show. I have a nokia 5800 xpressmusic and it works very well indeed. I would suggest everyone to download it and use it and get those barcodes of websites out there so people can find you.
You can see my fully working barcode at http://www.spanglishwebs.com/blog/archives/160
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