Mobile barcodes explained at OMA World bar
Rating: Gavitec and Nokia throw some light on the subject
by Tony Dennis
A chance encounter at the OMA World
cocktail party last night has helped me enormously in trying to
fathom exactly was is going on the UK – as opposed to Japan –
with 2D and 3D barcodes.
I ran into Dr Frank Muller from Gavitec
who then introduced me to Torulf Jernstrom from Nokia. Both are
experts on this subject.
The barcode’s potential is self-evident.
For example, a barcode can contain a complex mobile internet URL that
can easily be read with a cameraphone. And, voilà, you have
thousands of mobile phones surfing to the same site.
Unfortunately,
after ignoring barcodes for years, UK publishers have suddenly woken
up to their potential. In the space of about two weeks we’ve seen Kerrang! UK – the rock magazine – publish codes compatible with
the Kaywa reader. That was followed very swiftly by the Sun and its
eight page ‘Mobile Mania’ pull-out which I covered here. Today – I’m reliably informed –
the free London lads magazine – Shortlist - used the codes too. The
last two use a reader supplier by I-nigma but ultimately all three
are based on technology supplied by 3G Vision.
Add to this the
fact there’s a barcode reader sitting inside my Nokia N95 by
default.
And the problem is? They don’t all work together
properly. For example, the Nokia reader doesn’t quite read the .vcf
(business card) format used by a rival implementation. Yet they all
claim to be QR codes.
This is where Muller and Jernstrom helped me
out. There’s two basic types. The ‘direct’ version attempts to build
all the data you need into the code itself. The ‘indirect’ style
code, resolves a unique number and points the mobile phone to the
right URL.
Chaos can ensue when three different suppliers of indirect codes utilise
the exact same number inside the barcode. Which is where the OMI
(Optical Message Interchange) comes in. The OMI will be to an Optical
Message Service (OMS) what an SMSC is to SMS.
It just so
happens that Gavitec is developing an OMI which it is hoping will
become a de facto standard.
More on mobile barcodes from me later.
Related News:
- Mobile barcodes @ OMA World Part II
- MC2 Mobile Codes Consortium convinces OMA and GSMA to drive mobile marketing using 2D barcodes
- NeoMedia shows off Optical Messaging Interchange at Mobile World Congress
- Jim Levinger CEO Nextcode on CTIA White Paper on mobile barcodes
- Mobile Barcodes NeoReader on the iPhone vs Nokia N95 Barcode Scanner
6 Responses to “Mobile barcodes explained at OMA World bar”
This can’t be true. I have been reading for two years now, about how NEOMEDIA already had such a platform, and all that was left was to throw on the switch when the market was ready for this technology.
Of course I was also hearing that NEOMEDIAS Paperclic was the best reader around as well, and its now defunct. Just as the QODE reader that was also touted as the best around is no longer in existence, and has been replaced by a new NEOREADER based on Gavitecs technology.
And now we learn that Gavitec is currently developing a resolution server solution to handle sorting out these bar codes. Thats quite interesting. I wonder in the end, what NEOMs contribution to this technology will be, since it appears Gavitec is doing all the developing lately, and is replacing all of NEOMs core components with their new developements?
Comment made on December 13th, 2007 at 11:22 pmdon’t be such a cry baby, .
it’s called technological evolution.
cheers
Comment made on December 14th, 2007 at 12:10 amAs I see it, it really doesn’t matter if Neomedia or Gavitec gets the thing up and running. Neomedia owns Gavitec, And as long as my shares go up I don’t care who gets the credit
Comment made on December 14th, 2007 at 1:54 amDear Mr. Hart:
The one thing which you continually fail to grasp is the importance by which a group of well educated and highly evolved thinkers explored the basic premise of how to connect a physical object to the internet way back in 1995 in a Chicago office building, long before the advent of Web 2.0. The object was in fact a mens Hathaway dress shirt, and that initial dialogue is what has culimnated in the inpenetrable patents by which NeoMedia outright owns the Physical World Connection space.
To bring you current to the ever increasing changes which have taken place in this field, please find a well articulated description of the NeoMedia OS platform as follows:
NeoMedia’s NeoServer™-OMS (Optical Messaging Service) is a complete infrastructure with services for generating printed codes, reading those codes and then acting upon the codes by delivering mobile content.
By linking barcodes and brand names to targeted URL’s, the NeoServer-OMS allows mobile marketers to promote their products and services directly to consumers, any time, any where. Employing the rich media capabilities of the mobile web, the NeoServer-OMS is the pre-eminent enabler for mobile marketing campaigns. Now mobile marketers can offer the consumer instant and effortless access to any marketing activity, including contests, coupons, tracking, polling, events, ticketing, direct purchases, mobile entertainment, real time information and more. NeoMedia’s NeoServer-OMS reaches as far as our imagination.
The NeoServer-OMS is a robust, reliable, scalable, and extensible infrastructure leading the way for universal code support and interoperability. This infrastructure includes solutions of access technology and resolution services using carrier-grade infrastructure and architecture.
Houdini
Comment made on December 14th, 2007 at 1:55 amBest of all the NeoReader reads more codes than the competition.
Direct and indirect. I know that some of the other readers are not able to do that.
I keep asking the same question and no one seems to respond to it.
What will make the other readers so valuable when the consumer will be able to click on logos, trademarks, slogans, billboards, keywords, RFIS, etc, with the same reader?
THE READER SHOULD BE ABLE TO INTERACT WITH MORE THAN JUST CODES!!!!!
ANYONE?
Comment made on December 14th, 2007 at 2:57 amBarcodes are still in the infancy stage - even though company’s such as NEOM have been around for a while. From Qode to NeoReader to direct or indirect the focus should be on user interface and standardisation. One reader must do it all. Downloading multiple readers will kill this market.
Comment made on December 14th, 2007 at 6:18 amI see huge potential for comapnies such as NEOM and Scanbuy working with near field communciaiton companies as well to gell with the whole ecosystem not just sit at the head of a part of it.
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