QR codes What are they

So you have heard about QR codes or Quick Response codes, but are unsure of how they will work for you or if they are important for your business.


Firstly what is a QR Code

Although initially used for tracking parts in vehicle manufacturing, QR Codes are now used in a much broader context, including both commercial tracking applications and convenience-oriented applications aimed at mobile phone users (known as mobile tagging). QR Codes can be used to display text to the user, to add a vCard contact to the user's device, to open a URI or to compose an email or text message. Users can also generate and print their own QR Code for others to scan and use by visiting one of several free QR Code generating sites. Frank C. Hudetz, a US Marketing Services Professional, claims to have invented the idea of mapping bar codes to a URL.^[2][3]

QR Codes storing addresses and URLs may appear in magazines, on signs, buses, business cards, or on just about any object about which users might need information. Users with a camera phone equipped with the correct reader application can scan the image of the QR Code to display text, contact information, connect to a wireless network, or open a web page in the phone's browser. This act of linking from physical world objects is known as a hardlink or physical world hyperlinks.

Google's mobile Android operating system supports the use of QR codes by natively including the barcode scanner (ZXing) on some models, and the browser supports URIredirection, which allows QR Codes to send metadata to existing applications on the device. Nokia's Symbian operating system is also provided with a barcode scanner, which is able to read QR Codes,^[4] while mbarcode ^[5] is a QR code reader for the Maemo operating system. In the Apple iOS a QR Code reader is not natively included, but some iTunes Apps, for free, are available with reader and metadata browser URI redirection.

How can I use it in my business? Well lets imagine that you are stuck behind a truck as I was the other day. On the back of this truck was an advertisement for water that I was interested in. I had to manually type the telephone  number into my phone. Painful and prone to mistakes. If there was a QR code on the advertisement I could have used my phone in a much more useful way. With a QR code all I would have to do is point my phones camera at the add and take a photo the software in my phone will automatically take me to a website where I can find out all info I need or even get a special deal. The possibilities are endless. Here is an article from wkipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QR_Code

So now your interested hey! If you would like to know how I can help you with QR advertising then get in touch with me at http://www.dgdonline.com.au/index.php or call me in Australia on +61884640182