Smartphones & Matrix Barcodes

Not so long ago, mobile phones were a device for talking to people while you were on the move; a mobile telephone. Simple! Now mobile phones have become something else – Smartphones. A multi-function device capable of all kinds of clever things including email and internet access.

Smartphones have changed the way we communicate with those around us and as a result of this, we now communicate to much wider audience than we did just a handful of years ago. Just look at the posts on your FaceBook account and see how many updates are made from mobile devices (Android, Blackberry, iPhone etc).

Recent figure show that smartphones make up 32% of phones owned by adults in the UK and most youngsters have them too, meaning there are a lot of people out there with access to these different methods of communication (Voice, SMS, Email and Internet).

What Next?

Matrix Barcodes (2D barcodes)

Ok, I can hear you all scratching your heads but you’ve probably already seen them on all kinds of things; from magazines to loaves of bread.

What are they?

They’re an extension/derivative of the old bar codes that supermarkets use to scan your shopping. There are several flavours available but the one that appears to be gaining global acceptance is the QR Code (Quick Response).

The QR code was invented by Denso-Wave, a subsidiary of Toyota Motor Company, for use in the motor industry for tracking parts. But it is its use with smartphones that it’s beginning to make its biggest impact; as a smart link between paper based (or other hard surface) and the internet.

Imagine you’re a tourist in a foreign city and notice them on lamposts. You scan one and it sends your smartphone to a tourism website with information about that part of the city, nearest hotels, restaurants/bars etc. or even historic information.

Or in your local newspaper has a feature on your favourite restaurant. Scan and it’s a special offer.
The possibilities are endless.

Many smartphones have barcode scanning applications either pre-installed or as a download. Google’s “Google Goggles” also scans them. If you’ve not got one installed, just go to your Marketplace and search for “QR Code Scanners”, you’ll be surprised at home many there are.

So, now you know what Matrix Barcodes and specifically, QR Codes are, go find them and use them.