Whereas QR codes are effectively 2D barcodes that have to take up space on a page, NewsFlash is effectively invisible to the human eye. That’s because it uses flashes of pink and green light that the human eye effectively averages out and does not see; however, the camera on your smartphone can see these pulses, which are then effectively translated as binary code that your phone can then understand. Using the NewsFlash app, you are then redirected accordingly.

In the video below, as an example, a scan of a newspaper page on a tablet sends the smartphone to the same article within the app. In much the same way, a NewsFlash scan of a newspaper in a foreign language can send you an English translation of that article automatically. Of course, this will only work with lit displays and not printed materials, since regular paper can’t flash pink and green, but this could prove interesting in certain signage and other scenarios.

[Source]

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After a long day at work, it’s never fun waiting for the subway. On top of that, sometimes you still have to go grocery shopping for dinner. In South Korea, where almost 50 million people live in a country a bit bigger than Indiana, grocery shopping can be a huge pain in the butt.

But Tesco came up with a plan to make things a bit easier for South Koreans, and boost their business without having to open additional stores. Tesco, known as Homeplus in South Korea, has set up virtual grocery stores at subway stations, so people waiting for the subway can do some quick shopping before dinner. Tesco has eliminated the need for some people to go to the grocery store and wait in line, then lug those groceries all the way back home on the crowded subway. As you can imagine, the South Koreans love it, and more and more of them are signing up for e-grocery shopping.

The virtual grocery stores are made of posters that replicate the display and merchandise found in Tesco stores, so all customers have to do is scan the QR code of the product with their smartphone, and it lands in their virtual shopping cart. When they come home, their groceries are delivered to them. Sounds nice, right? Let’s hope they bring those over here and we never have to wait in line at a grocery store ever again. Although there is the element of choosing for quality that some people may still find important.

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As Google ramps up its support for NFC, it is completely shutting down its support for QR codes in its Places services. I never used QR codes and now I never need to either.

I guess the idea sounded decent, since it effectively eliminated typos and such, but it just didn’t seem too convenient to whip out the appropriate app, take a picture of the blocky shape, and wait for it to redirect you to an app or site…. when you could have taken that last step on your own. NFC isn’t the same as QR, to be sure, but Google’s got to put its priorities where it needs to put its priorities.

[Read]

The post Google Effectively Kills QR Codes for Good appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

YPrintIt is a free app that lets you design and send digital business cards using QR codes. The app offers hundreds of templates.

To give someone your business card, you show them the QR code that is generated when you create the e-card, and they take a photo of it with the QR code reader. If they don’t have the app, they can take a regular picture on their cellphone and view it once they install it.

The virtual business card can be sent an unlimited amount of times, and with real time data sync too, so every time you change your information your contacts will receive an update about it. Also, if your contact shares that card with someone else, you can log into your account online and see has received it.

The app is available for iPhone and Android, with the Blackberry version coming later this year.

[YPrintIt]

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