Monday, June 27, 2011

Additional BB QR readers - XVII


Mobio bills itself as "... the world's first payment and identity platform for smart phones..." Per this article "... Mobio turns a Smartphone camera into a specialized QR barcode reader that unlocks the capability for a user to donate through any media (print, web and TV). The Mobio app is available for iPhone, Android and BlackBerry. First-time users download the free Mobio app and register for the secure service. Once registered, a user can then scan a Mobio QR barcode to make a charitable donation using VISA, MasterCard or American Express..."

OK, so I downloaded it to my BB Torch and gave it a whirl. Note: I only tried out its QR code scanning capabilities, but NOT the secure set up or other capabilities. As always I used the QR codes at the QR Code Quality Standards Test v1.02

Mobio had no problems reading 'url', 'phone', 'e-mail' and other QR codes. However your only options were to go to the url, make the call, or send the e-mail, you did not have other options e.g. the ability to save to your contacts, etc. Mobio did not do 'free text' or 'vcard' QR codes.

I will not opine as to Mobio's place in the pantheon of QR readers, because it is clearly not aimed at that general space (so it would be unfair to compare it to the other QR readers I have tried out, or ding it for not doing free text, vcards, etc.) However, it can be used as a basic QR reader...







BB QR readers

Sunday, June 26, 2011

QR/Tag roundup

Here are a number of (unrelated) QR code and Microsoft Tag news updates, uses, generators, etc:
Previous QR and Tag entries:
BB QR readers (24 links)
QR codes "in the wild" (11 links)
QR-and Tag-related entries (21 links)

Retro...


The June 10th blog entry, 'A blast from the past', said that I had taken my venerable HP200lx out of mothballs and was going to try and use it as my regular PDA. It's been a little weird reacquainting myself with this (ancient dinosaur!) CGA DOS 5.0 machine!

For example, I had forgotten that the HP200lx had a full-size PCMCIA card slot, so had to buy a PCMCIA to CF adapter as well as a CF card small enough to be able to be read on the HP200lx! (256 MB seems to be the largest it will read... It's been so long that I didn't remember that once upon a time 256MB was an immense amount of storage!)

It's true that some amazing programs were written that were so much incredibly smaller than the huge bloatware we have these days, and were so versatile... For example MM/Lx was a great mind-mapping tool that was available back then. Black & white, etc., yet this mind-mapping tool on the HP200lx was better than any similar program for my Zaurus SL-C3000 many years later...

Hmm, clearly I'm getting old, waxing nostalgic about the HP200lx!


Some screen captures:












In the wild - XI

Saw a QR code in the Yagööt store the other day. They're holding a 'new flavor' competition... patrons could fill out the card or scan the QR code and enter on line. Not sure why you'd want to go the QR route, as it took you to their regular (non-mobile) page... and it would be as easy or easier to simply fill out the card....




Most QR implementations seem to be in print, for example in Forbes, Business Week, Fortune, and similar magazines. However, not all are well thought out! See below for a number of examples of print QR implementations.

First up, a nice implementation by Oppenheimer Funds, with the QR code resolving to a mobile-friendly page with a short, interesting (and informative) quiz....






Overall this implementation by J.P.Morgan (below) was not very good. Although it resolved to a mobile-friendly page, the use of a tiny and dense QR code made it extremely difficult to read...



This implementation by ambient was a mixed bag - it used a nice 'designer' QR code, but it resolved to a non mobile-friendly page...


This QR use by SPDR was poorly done... the use of a rather small, faded black or grey, with an added logo QR code made it rather difficult to read. If that wasn't bad enough, anyone who persevered would be directed to a decidedly non mobile-friendly page...




I see fewer examples the use of Microsoft Tags, but their implementations generally seem to be better done, even if this is not true for the second example below (non-mobilized landing page)...




QR codes in the wild