Category Archives: Mobile barcodes
QR codes hide inside BlackBerry Messenger
Rating: Admit it – you did know it was there, either
Playing around with our BlackBerry Curve and the BlackBerry instant messaging (IM) feature, GoMo News was surprised to discover that there is a QR code hidden away (but fully integrated) inside the app. We’d guess that loads of our readers hadn’t noticed it either. The snag is that there’s a definite knack to taking advantage of the QR code to add a new contact to your BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) service. For starters, there’s absolutely no need to download an independent barcode scanner – like the NeoReader from NeoMedia. In fact, NeoReader doesn’t know what to do with it. No. Open up the Messenger app instead and you can scan a friend or colleague’s BlackBerry IM PIN number in and add them to your contacts. Incidentally, we suspect this feature first appeared in BBM 5.0 back in 2009. Continue reading
Microsoft says Tag is better than QR
Rating: Tags go up in smoke with Stateline Fireworks
It was nice to hear from Nick Martin, Microsoft’s online community manager for its Microsoft Tag offering. He was commenting on our story here about a major brand (Bulmers cider) using QR codes as a marketing tool. Nick wanted to point out that his company has built “an end-to-end solution that focuses on reporting and capabilities to enhance targeting and content refinement.” In other words the Tag is a much better tool than the QR code. “Unfortunately, the fragmented nature of the QR code space makes it difficult for a brand to know exactly what services and what quality they are getting when executing,” Martin reckons. So he usefully points out where to get hold of the necessary tools. GoMo News looked on the Tag blog and found an interesting case study with Stateline Fireworks. Continue reading
Bulmers needs QR code campaign checking
Rating: Some of our URLs are missing
It’s always good to see leading brands utilising QR/2D barcodes to enhance their marketing campaigns but in Bulmers’ case, somebody really should have checked that the QR code works properly. GoMo News pointed two separate Android handsets at the QR code built into an advert placed in the local public house. We were using NeoMedia‘s NeoReader app to scan in the QR code. In both cases, the browser reported that the URL could not be found. It was a simple error. The standard Android browser seems to need the extra forward slash ‘ / ‘ to correctly resolve the URL built into the QR code. We discovered this by typing the URL into a PC Firefox browser. But somebody should have checked this. We’re delighted to discover, however, that Bulmers has an Android app as well as an iPhone one. Continue reading
PhraseMeme QR scanner app for WP7 discovered
Rating: Nice pointers for WP7 tools revealed, too
If Nokia gets its way then Windows Phone 7 (WP7) will be the next very big thing. It might just happen because Microsoft has a knack of getting there in the end. So it dawned on us that what GoMo News readers might just want is a fully featured QR/barcode reading app for a WP7 smartphone. We’ve found one with the PhraseMeme Scanner. It looks like the developer came across the demand for such an app by accident when it was actually supposed to be creating a game. Reading the company’s Facebook page, this app seems to have proved very popular in the UK. Users from the UK are the second biggest download group for PhraseMeme Scanner as the app has regional support for the United Kingdom (local search for Google/Amazon/eBay). Whilst visiting PhraseMeme’s site we also found loads of pointer for people considering developing for WP7, although it does seem to have a very strong US bias. Continue reading
Tesco nails mobile shopping with QR Code virtual store
Tesco has used mobile phones to create what might be the most clever use of mobile barcodes I have ever seen. By combining QR Codes, smartphones and Tesco’s existing home delivery service, it has transformed a South Korean subway station into a convenience store. Continue reading
Will the iPhone 5 contain an NFC chip?
Rating: The odds are that it will
The art of creating a buzz around your product must surely be to get people guessing what the next version will contain even before the latest update is commercially available. Apple is an expert at this game and the fact that blogs are alive with rumours about an iPhone 5 should not come as any surprise to anyone. It’s almost like there’s a Boore’s Law than the level of speculation with double with every new generation of the iPhone. Luckily one of the news sites – CNET – has come up with a round-up of all iPhone rumours to date. View it here.Perhaps the most important question is whether or not the iPhone 5 will contain an NFC chip. If GoMo News was into gambling, we would have to bet on the fact that it will. Continue reading
Mobile advertising and marketing top-news: barcodes, NFC, AdMob and garden gnomes
Welcome to the round-up of the best in mobile advertising and marketing news, here on GoMo News! We’ve got NFC, Microsoft and while I never thought I’d mention AdMob and garden gnomes in the same breath, we’ve got that too! Continue reading
T-Labs starts testing barcoo for a new mobile visual search service
T-Labs (Deutsche Telekom Labs) has announced that a four month test of barcoo mobile code services and its visual search has started today.
Continue reading
Love fashion? Love mobile? Sign-up for Teez Me
If you love mobile and work in fashion you need to sign up for Teez.Me now! Its a simple and elegant mobile marketing platform. It is tailored for the fashion industry and the company is just starting out. I got a brief last week and it struck a cord.
Continue reading
Mobile advertising and marketing top news: apps, barcodes and augmented reality
Welcome to the Monday round-up of the best in mobile marketing and advertising stories from GoMo News! Today we take a look at whether apps are better at mobile advertising than mobile ads are; a new augmented reality company in India; and much more! Continue reading
Best Buy activate mobile barcode shopping with 3GVision
One of the oldest established mobile barcode companies in the world is 3GVision. With a firmly established base in Japan, it has slowly been growing its reach in Europe and America, as well as other markets. Today it has announced that Best Buy Canada is mobile-activating its product barcodes using 3GVisions i-nigma application. Continue reading
