Some of you may recall that a couple of years ago I reported from Japan on the widespread use of these two-dimensional square barcodes in shops, advertisements, on buildings, in train stations and so on. These so-called QR codes (short for quick response codes) could also become a familiar sight in Australia as Telstra has decided to launch the technology in Australia.
QR codes work by pointing the camera in a mobile at the code, which brings up a response on the mobile screen. A shop could display the code in its shop window, passersby could point their camera and a mobile voucher could appear on their mobile screen – perhaps inviting the person to come into the shop and redeem their voucher. In the field of education, the codes could be used to guide students around environmental or historic features; displaying codes at areas where further information can be obtained through the codes.
Games are even played, with codes being projected on buildings in Tokyo.
In partnership with its business divisions BigPond, WhereIs, Sensis, City Search and Foxtel, as well as media (including Fairfax) and major entertainment and sporting brands, Telstra will deliver information and services, including news, weather, sport, music and videos.
The telecoms company expects one million handsets to be QR code reader enabled by the end of the year. Many Telstra advertisements will feature QR codes – called Telstra Mobile Codes – with the initial focus on drumming up interest in the barcodes and what they can do.
The company’s decision to preload many handsets with a reader is also seen as a smart move, to overcome any apathy consumers may feel towards manually downloading the software. According to Telstra, although QR code trials are taking place worldwide Australia is the first country, apart from QR code leader Japan, to develop and launch preloaded handsets on a mass scale.
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