QR Code

QR Code

A QR Code is a matrix code (or two-dimensional bar code) created by Japanese corporation Denso-Wave in 1994. The “QR” is derived from “Quick Response”, as the creator intended the code to allow its contents to be decoded at high speed.

QR Codes are common in Japan, where they are currently the most popular type of two dimensional codes. Moreover, most current Japanese mobile phones can read this code with their camera.

Although initially used for tracking parts in vehicle manufacturing, QR Codes are now used in a much broader context, including both commercial tracking applications and convenience-oriented applications aimed at mobile phone users (known as mobile tagging).

QR Codes storing addresses and URLs may appear in magazines, on signs, buses, business cards or just about any object that users might need information about including items in stores. Users with a camera phone equipped with the correct reader software can scan the image of the QR Code causing the phone’s browser to launch and redirect to the programmed URL. This act of linking from physical world objects is known as a hardlink or physical world hyperlinks. Google’s cellphone OS Android heavily uses QR codes.

Users can also generate and print their own QR Code for others to scan and use by visiting one of several free QR Code generating sites. QR codes and RFID, are leading technology to enable the “Internet of Things” which some believe will be a huge growth phase for the Internet. The “Internet of Things” is a vision where physical world objects link to cyberspace and cyberspace to the physical world.

Android, iPhones, and RFID.

Among the ever escalating numbers of smartphones available in the US, Apple’s iPhone still leads the way in those as well as other mobile application areas, noted David Dorf, director of retail technology at Oracle.

The more than 10,000 iPhone apps online in Apple’s App Store already include some photo-oriented “vision” apps. Examples include an app from Sears which helps you to locate a product in stores based on an uploaded product photo, and one from Wal-mart that allows you to use a picture of a room in deciding what size HDTV to buy.

With the recent entrance of Motorola’s Droid and Google’s Nexus One, for instance, apps of this kind are also headed to the open source Android platform, said speakers in an NRF panel session.

Developers are at work, too, on location-aware apps that will use GPS to send you discount coupons based on where you happen to be, and on augmented reality apps combining a mobile phone’s camera view with multiple layers of related information.

Meanwhile, commuters in New York City and San Francisco have been taking part in NFC trials involving the use of software-based token applications that bill their credit cards for mass transit use.

Participants have been able to hop aboard trains and subway cars simply by waving their phones in front of contact-less NFC readers near turnstiles in mass transit stations, said Sahir Anand, research director for retail, hospitality and Consumer Product Group practice at the Aberdeen Group analyst firm.The United States has long lagged behind some other parts of the world — most notably Japan and the Nordic countries — in mobile shopping and mass transit apps, pointed out Mohammad Khan, president and founder of ViVOtech. But with the advent of new smartphones and NRC, the US is getting poised to “leapfrog ahead,” Khan contended.

Read more: betanews.com

Tesco customers shop from iPhone

UK grocery giant Tesco is developing a mobile application to allow customers to manage their shopping though Apple’s iPhone.The new software will be produced to work with Apple’s iPhone, allowing users to search products by category or through simple text search, and to manage their shopping basket through the Apple phone.Source: Sky News

Samsung develops RFID chip for mobile handsets

Samsung Electronics has developed an RFID (radio frequency identification) chip it hopes will turn mobile phones into more useful tools to tell people about the products and services they want.

Samsung’s principal innovation in this area has been to design an RFID reader chip that can read different types of RFID tags. Normally, it takes more than one chip to read different kinds of RFID tags. The new chip will one day find its way into handheld devices, such as mobile phones, although the company did not say when that would happen.

When it does, people will be able to read RFID tags on products and other items meant to make the world an easier place to navigate. For example, some RFID tags on food or medicine products might give information on ingredients or dosages, while RFID tags at bus stops can offer schedules or tell when the next bus will arrive.<

The usefulness of RFID chips will grow as more companies put information on RFID tags and other devices meant for the technology. In Taiwan, for example, one local mobile network operator plans to work with movie theaters to put movie times on RFID tags in movie posters, so people can check on times while riding the subway or in popular shopping areas.

RFID technology is still in the early stages of use, a spokeswoman for Samsung in Seoul said, and Samsung currently has no timeline for when the RFID reader chips might enter mass production. The company plans to wait until RFID technology is more mature, she said.

Source: ARN

Smart Handheld System for Independent Retailers

McLane, a leading supply chain services company, today announced early testing for a ‘smart handheld’ system tailored for use by independent grocery and convenience store retailers. This in-store ordering solution, called Smart Handheld for Independents (SHHi), gives small chains the same capabilities to manage their physical inventories and order placements that large chain operations have used for years — delivered in a simple-to-use, affordable system.

“Independent retailers have unique challenges. They typically have fewer resources and could benefit greatly by automating everyday tasks. But in general, they don’t have the ability to tap industry-leading technology because of cost barriers,” said Chris Skelly, vice president of sales for McLane’s Western division. “With SHHi, store managers will soon be able to retire their Telxon ordering devices and experience technology that can greatly impact their business with little or no training, and minimal cost.”

Based on feedback single store and small chain retailer customers, McLane developed the specifications around the SHHi system to address real-world requirements. SHHi gives users the ability to track order history, create orders and track upcoming distributions, all from a single device.

Source: businesswire.com

Camera phones to function as sales assistants

Avery Dennison and Scanbuy, Inc. Introduce Mobile-Merchandising Solution a technology that uses 2D barcode technology to enable camera phones to function as in-store sales assistants.

The solution, which will be marketed by Avery Dennison through its worldwide network of service bureaus, ticketing centers and sales offices, connects the company’s line of retail labels with Scanbuy’s ScanLife(TM) Client application and ScanLife Code Management Platform to allow retailers to communicate with consumers while they shop.

“By combining technologies, Avery Dennison and Scanbuy will provide consumers with a completely interactive shopping experience that links millions of ticketed apparel items directly to mobile information,” says Johnathan Bulkeley, chief executive officer of Scanbuy. “This new solution will enable brand owners and retailers to stand apart in an increasingly competitive environment and more effectively cross-sell complimentary products and services.”

Source prnewswire.com

Wising up to smart phones

With smartphones today, we can check what is on the movies and paying for admission. Looking up maps on the fly to find nearby stores and restaurants.

Smartphones come with Internet access and range of clever applications and this is changing the way we shop.

The growing popularity of Web-enabled smart phones do far more than simply send text messages and make calls. Consumers increasingly have access to a world of information at their fingertips, and at the moment they’re making buying decisions.

Software developers are responding by introducing new cell phone programs that help compare prices or list coupons, and retailers are also working to adapt.

Since the iPhone’s debut two years ago, other manufacturers have introduced similar models and Google has introduced a new operating system called Android for smart phones.

Of the roughly 270 million cell phones in use in the U.S. today, smart phones make up around 13 percent, but annual smart phone sales are projected to double by 2013.

Smart phones will increasingly and seamlessly merge with Smart stores to assist in connecting consumers with products and services that they want, when they want. Currently the door is wide open for developers with vision and execution to fulfill the needs of smart consumers and early adopters of technology that is useful to them. This trend will give rise to many innovative services and programs on smart phones which could turn out to be a huge business opportunity for developers.

NTT combines Java & RFID, for loyalty cards

NTT Communications has begun trials of a high-tech alternative to loyalty cards that promises to simplify their use.

Loyalty cards are big business and are often handed out to customers when they have made a purchase. Consequently, people end up with wallets stuffed with too many cards.

When cell phone carriers began rolling out electronic wallet services a few years ago some retailers offered shoppers the ability to keep their points in a Java applet inside their phones rather than a physical card. But this too has led to clutter in the form of a phone full of applications, one for each store.

The NTT technology, called “Gyazapo,” hopes to simplify this by bringing together loyalty cards in one application. It too is a Java applet and can be used in phones that also include short-range RFID technology. Most current phones support the technology.

Trials began this week at major Japanese electronics retailer Bic Camera and will also be tried over the next few months at two other retailers.

Nokia Announces App ‘Smart Store’

Nokia kicks off the 2009 Mobile World Congress in Bacelona with the announcement of the Ovi Store, an application store that blends media with social networking and location-based services, akin to Google’s Latitude application. Ovi already boasts partners such as Facebook, MySpace and game publisher Electronic Arts.

Nokia Executive Vice President Tero Ojanperä used a keynote address to do just that, with the announcement of Ovi, an application store that “learns” users’ preferences and uses location and social networking to personalize the experience. Nokia says Ovi will be accessible to about 50 million people immediately upon its launch in May.

Source: eweek.com

SmartStore Helps Mobile Operators

SmartStore

Mobinex, in cooperation with Turkcell Teknoloji, announced SmartStore solution for mobile operators to enable delivery and management of applications on mobile phones.

Mobinex and Turkcell Teknoloji combined forces to provide an innovative mobile application storefront technology; SmartStore, which will help operators to increase their revenues from application downloads. The integrated offering will benefit Mobinex’s user experience technology and Turkcell Teknoloji’s expertise on carrier grade platform delivery and integration services.

Mobile operator branded SmartStore mobile client simplifies the discovery of mobile applications dramatically. One-click purchase and installation, community interaction features such as commenting, voting, and customized user interface make SmartStore a compelling super store for mobile applications. SmartStore may include operator specific mobile widgets, which are deployed by Smartface Platform’s rapid visual development environment, or any other mobile applications from third party developers.

Mobinex, as the leading provider of on-device software solutions, is dedicated to increasing revenues of mobile providers with innovative user experiences. Along with customers and partners including Vodafone, Zain, Turkcell, KKTCell, Neustar, Gemalto, Ericsson and HP, Mobinex products reach to a subscriber base of 120 million globally.
For more information: www.mobinex.biz

Turkcell Teknoloji has been established as a 100% subsidiary of Turkcell which is a GSM Network Operator with more than 36 million subscribers. Turkcell Teknoloji grew from the development group within Turkcell to provide solutions for mobile operators all over the world. Turkcell has benefited a lot from the products developed by Turkcell Teknoloji aiming to achieve 100% customer satisfaction at the operator’s site.
For more information please see: www.turkcelltech.com.tr