These funny codes you see around the place are known as QR Codes and are the next
generation of barcodes. They have been going crazy in Japan for years and now
they are hitting our shores. The great thing about QR codes is that they:
- Hold much more information - great for things like mobile website addresses.
- Can be read faster and even upside down
- Can be scanned from a screen, in a newspaper or magazine, flyer or even a billboard.
Why bother?
Whenever you see a venue or event on my247 you'll see a code which you can
scan that will take you to the venue or event's my247 mobile site. Very handy
if you want to bookmark your favourite venue or save details of the event on your mobile.
Also as you start seeing these codes in papers, magazines, bill-boards you'll
be able to get more information on the venue or event to read whilst you're
on the go!
Cool - so how do I get a reader ?
The good news is that you probably have one already!
Today's Mobile Phones will either have a reader as standard (For Nokia phones
- try going to Office / Applications and look for Barcode Reader) - or they can be downloaded
from the web - try a web search for
QR Code Reader
or search within your phone's application store.
How much does it cost?
There is no cost for scanning codes. Most codes will take you to a mobile website
so it recommended that you have a data-plan, check with your provider if you are
unsure.
What next?
Once you've got a reader try scanning this code below:
If successful it should take you to your local my247 mobile page.
It may take a few attempts to get code-reading down to a fine-art. Try holding
the phone about 10cms away from the screen that should do it.
Remember: Practice makes perfect!