I think they lost the momentum, when they started charging. Though their blog mentioned Nike etc.. But the idea is still pretty cool. :)

http://www.mobilecodes.org

The infrastructure required is simple… someone needs to create a free flash app that will input form information, like a address book entry and spit out vector and bitmap qrcode for download. Then, designers will be able to implement them easier. Search for Free QR Code generator right now and it’s not going to yield much, unless you dig deep. It needs to be free to do, simple simple simple. There may be a time when blog software and URL shrinking sites could generate them on the fly for your URLS as plugins or on request. Then you are really cooking with gas.

And every phone with a camera should have had this long ago. Webcams too. It’s irresponsible that it has taken this long. I can’t even upgrade my razr from 2 years ago to read them, and it’s been available for like 10 years now elsewhere. Phones often come from Asia, you’d think the app to read qr would be there more frequently. Sadly, phones and their software is quite pathetic considering how much work has been put into them.

I used a QR code on my business card this year and when I was in Japan, only a couple people out of the 30 I gave it to knew what it was. Not every phone there scanned it properly, but most did. But QR is worlds better than those pompous bizcard scanners you can buy from skymall. Instead just photograph the code with your phone and it’s captured. Conceivably, movie theaters could display it too on screen during slideshows and commercials and you could snap from the seat.

Here’s where it’s also needed, as part of all the nutrition information that can’t fit on packaging. QRCodes can handle a surprising amount of data for their size. The larger is something like 250 characters.

It’s kind of silly to say “They will be big business” What exactly does that mean? It should just be seamless, part of life and design where it’s useful. It should be open and free for everyone to use. Why does it have to be “big business” Nobody says “the color blue will be big business this year.” An accurate headline for the point made would be “Use of QRCodes should and will finally grow in the US” or “QRCodes will stop being ignored for once, and their usefulness praised and exploited”

http://www.smickworks.com/index.php?n=Main.QrCodes

Did you know the company behind the :CuCat, Digital Convergence, licensed the patent portfolio of NeoMedia Technologies before launching the :CueCat? Flash forward to today, mobile barcode reading is an everyday part of the popular culture in Japan. The technology is just now beginning to emerge in Europe with North America not too far behind. The reason why mobile code-reading is flourishing today, is because the mobile phone is portable and it can be carried with you at all times.

NeoMedia is the company behind the mobile code-reading application, NeoReader. Based off the award winning Lavasphere technology developed in Germany by Gavitec, the NeoReader features NeoMedia’s patented resolution technology combined with Gavitec’s ultra-small footprint and platform independent algorithms. It is able to read and decipher all common non-proprietary 2D codes (Data Matrix, QR, Aztec, Maxi) as well as URL embedded 2D codes and all 1D UPC/EAN/Code 128 open source codes. The NeoReader supports direct and indirect code linking, which guarantees maximum interoperability with already existing platforms like 2D Data Matrix Semacodes, and Japanese QR links. This allows the user to click on a variety of codes with a single application installed on their mobile device.

The NeoReader ushers in and inaugurates a brand new era of innovative mobile enterprise and optical code reading solutions for the wireless industry. Visit get.neoreader.com to download the free application, and instantly transform your mobile phone into a universal code reader.

http://www.neoreader.com

What is not revealed is the required camera spec. QR Codes have the ability to hold almost 3K bits, but I doubt it is easy for even a 2M pixel camera to obtain data when packed that tightly. Most people do not have such a camera on their phone, and typical phones can probably only discern QR Codes containing 800 bits of data or less. The business case seems less interesting in that case when a device must connect to the internet and do a DB lookup to find out the data behind the code because the QR Code can only hold a URL, not much data itself.

Anyone more knowledgeable, please chime in.

I just don’t see these catching on, just as web TV will not for a long time like it has in South Korea.

Both will not take off because you have to pay a lot for internet usage on cell phones and most consumers don’t want to pay for phones in the first place. The countries that are on open platforms, without locking or OS specifications (Verizon) are the ones that see all of the improvements.

Notice how 2006 was the year this was ‘going’ to happen, and we’re now in 2008.