2D barcodes will rule the earth
I noticed that the user manual of Nokia N93 mentioned our barcode reader application on page 109, so I guess it is safe for me to write about this subject.
Here is a 2D barcode in Data Matrix format that has the URL to my blog http://blogs.s60.com/tommi encoded into it:
I created it with this Free Online DataMatrix Barcode Image Generator. Creating one took about 5 seconds. And did I mention it was free?
Now, Nokia S60 devices are starting to ship with a barcode reader application built-in.
(image stolen from Charlie's blog post, sorry...)
1+1 = ?
I'll let you do the math, but I believe this will be big. Huge. Massive. And not just in Japan, where it already is. They use 2D barcodes for everything imaginable - from business cards to magazine ads to billboards.
Two must-read bonus links:
Mainstream America is Ready for Bar Codes - Converging "Realspace" and "Mobilespace"'
WINKsite: fusing the mobile and Web worlds through barcodes
Thoughts?
--
ps. I have used a sizeable chunk of my thinking and working bandwidth to 2D barcodes lately, and I might have totally brainwashed myself into a fanatic believer. Therefore, I don't go into details, until I have some hard proof about how cool this stuff really is.
Comments
I think this is very, very cool, and would help an awful lot with an application that I've been interested in building for about a year now.
Is it possible to get the reader for earlier phones, for those of us who are trapped in the mobile backwater called the United States of America? Around here, the 6682 is exciting new technology.
Posted by: Evan | May 17, 2006 11:07 AM
Sounds good to me.
Is it compatible with Semacode? ( http://www.semacode.org )
Posted by: Björn Quentin | May 17, 2006 11:56 AM
Nokia does not currently offer barcode readers for "older" devices such as 6682. However, there are some 3rd party apps such as:
http://semacode.org/
http://www.connexto.com/
http://www.scanzoom.com/
I have tried some of these, but unfortunately with quite limited success.
I think the main problem in 2d barcodes might not be technical anymore. It might be more about how to create the de-facto standard(s). I hope Nokia is able to make this happen industry-wide.
Posted by: Tommi Vilkamo | May 17, 2006 12:02 PM
As far as I've understood, Semacode is a slight variant of Data Matrix. As such, I would guess that our barcode reader app could read also Semacodes, although I haven't tried it myself.
To be frank, I don't understand the the value added by Semacode. Isn't it just mandating the code inside Data Matrix to be an URL + having a Semacode logo + good marketing?. Could somebody explain this to me?
Posted by: Tommi Vilkamo | May 17, 2006 12:19 PM
Interesting technology but not so convinient, simple as image recognition (like businees card reader from Samsung).
On my N80 barcode reader is far away from ideal or everyday life usage, too slow and incorrect sometimes
Posted by: Eldar Murtazin | May 17, 2006 01:06 PM
Like you mentioned there has been Semacode etc. for ages available for S60, but I haven't seen any success with those? Is the logic here that when Nokia devices come with the reader, it will get some mass behind some particular solution and it will become huge? I don't know, just bit of sceptic still.. And shouldn't Nokia at least make this SW available freely to ALL S60 devices out there?
Posted by: Jukka | May 17, 2006 02:35 PM
BTW, tried your barcode with N93 and have to say the application is pretty cool :)
Posted by: Jukka | May 17, 2006 02:38 PM
> Is the logic here that when Nokia devices come with the reader,
> it will get some mass behind some particular solution and it will become huge?
Yes.
> shouldn't Nokia at least make this SW available freely to ALL S60 devices out there?
Yes.
Actually, to all Nokia devices.
Actually, to all camera-equipped mobile devices on this planet.
As Confucius (or was it Lao Tzu?) said, a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step" ;)
Posted by: Tommi Vilkamo | May 17, 2006 02:43 PM
Some Finnish magazines and newspapers (like Kauppalehti) have used 2D codes and applications developed by Upcode for some time now. But I've yet to see any innovative use for them. There are easier methods for getting today's news on your mobile phone, for example (like bookmarks perhaps ;)...
Posted by: Henri Vilminko | May 17, 2006 02:52 PM
This is great that Nokia is starting to support code scanning. However, the N93 is the Ultra High-end phone with very special optics. This is the only phone in Nokia's line that provides a macro lens. QR code, while used widely in Japan, is designed for phones with macro lenses.
QR and Data Matrix were designed for industrial applications thus are inherently not well suited for standard camera phone use and consumer applications.
I encourage folks who are interested in code scanning with standard camera phones to check www.ConnexTo.com. This site allows free code creation of codes for URLs, contact information, SMS, and phone numbers. All codes are designed for standard phones (with no macro) there is also a free reader for Series 60 phones and select J2ME phones.
Posted by: Jim Levinger | May 17, 2006 04:41 PM
I love the barcode functionality, but there is one problem (one that book cover designers have been battling for years): bar codes are ugly. Before you yell at me, let me say that of course I recognize the elegance and beauty of good function, but from a package designer's or advertiser's point of view, this is an ugly solution. Sad, but true. That's not to say that it won't succeed -- just to point out that there is a design barrier.
Posted by: Sarah Lipman | May 17, 2006 10:54 PM
Um, what would this be good for?
Posted by: Dan Rocha | May 17, 2006 11:46 PM