According to Engadget, Microsoft is jumping on colored Codes (HCCB), which are able to encode information in tags smaller than with the regular QR Codes. Microsoft not only sees Barcodes used on DVD media, but also on TV.

Life can be easy with a QR code reader in the phone:

Even that we have the best QR Code Generator out there, a great video from Nokia’s QR code generator.

What confuses me is the German Soccer national team jacket, that the guy is wearing.
Shouldn’t this be a Finland jacket?

Funny that Ralph Lauren, a company that I almost ended up with is using QR Codes in their ads and in the stores:

Picture credit to PSFK.com.
Also other Ralph Lauren / Polo QR codes report here.

Oh well…not sure how secret it is, but someone figured that there is a QR code on
on the Iphone:

Gunnar has more about QR Codes around the world. Japan is really ruling the field and more than 90% under 20 years-old use QR Codes. Amazing:

“In Japan 2005:

• 90% under 20 were using them.
• 84% were using them from magazines - women using them for mail order
• 74% for access URLs
• 27% (high I thought) for ecommerce purchase from magazines:

Seems like the British got into QR codes:

 ”Manchester Art Gallery is trialling the technology, as part of its year-long Revealing Histories: Remembering Slavery gallery trail. It is displaying the codes next to six objects on the trail. Users are taken to a mobile web page with information specifically about that object….Furr-Barton expects QR code usage by UK consumers to grow rapidly over the next 18 months, because mobile handsets with integrated cameras and mobile internet are increasingly common and mobile internet download speeds are increasing, improving the overall usability of the technology.”

Found via the Pondering Primate 

Not sure what’s going on with Google and QR Codes, but Gawker Media is reporting that…

“Google is working with QVC on a REVOLUTIONARY advanced type of bar code that can be scanned with a mobile phone….

Google has already seen results from a recent test campaign conducted in three markets with jewelry retailer Blue Nile. Each ad contained a QR code and a response tag, and was tested against the same ads without the tags. The code-enhanced ads ended up driving 6.5 times more revenue than the ads without.”

Crazy results! I would love to see if a QR Code banner would work online.

Just found: W3.org now includes QR Codes in the Mobile Web compatibility test:

 ”Entering an address is a pain on a phone? Quite often, indeed, so a couple of alternatives to save you a bit of that pain:

if your phone has a camera and a QR code reader (which you can probably find out on your preferred search engine), you can point your camera’s phone to the following code, and it will open the right page in your browser:”

Crazy stuff happening over in Japan: VoiceQR

VoiceQR is basically a QR Code that talks. The QR Code is able to play sound files that are ….well…amazing 2 seconds long. The VoiceQR is supported by about 10 devices. It might be interesting to see what happens in Japan and if this trend of QR Codes will happen in Europe.