Neomedia vs Scanbuy or simply a mushrooming mobile barcode market?
Rating: dear me
By Bena Roberts
The mobile barcode market is still in infancy. The core players in my eyes so far are NeoMedia, Scanbuy and Abaxia. But this is not the end; it is not even the beginning. As I write my industry analysis on NeoMedia vs Scanbuy – a slow realisation has hit me.
The realisation is that what ever the big vendors are doing, smaller guys, operators, pop bands and government agencies are already embracing the fresh, young; but innovative new market.
For the analysis, I thought I would do a small overview of barcode deployments and then it hit me. There is no such thing as a small overview. The barcode market is growing in all directions and the only way to keep up is to run.
Over the past few weeks the following movements in the barcode/ coupon or tagging space have been announced.
O2 has launched a new mobile voucher payment system. Retailers can scan discounts in the form of barcodes via the mobile. This new scheme dubbed the Instant Voucher System allows retailers to scan barcodes with the Nokia E50. The barcode is a 2D barcode and the reader is from Nokia.
Korean airline Asiana has launched a mobile barcode paperless ticket service. The barcode then becomes an e-ticket. This is proprietary and is for SK Telecom subscribers only.
The British Pop Group the Pet Shop Boys is using QR codes in videos and on album covers to engage, up-sell and to communicate with their consumers.
Google jumps on the barcode merry go-round with Zxing.
ZXing (pronounced “zebra crossing”) is an open-source, multi-format 1D/2D barcode reader library implemented in Java. Our goal is to support decoding of QR Codes, Data Matrix, and the UPC family of 1D barcodes. It will provide clients for J2ME, J2SE, and Android.
Why? There are several great readers out there, and there are bits of open-source code already for decoding, but not both at the same time. We want everyone to have access to some great source code to play with, so we decided we’d try an experiment, and open up our in-progress effort. Maybe some of it will be useful to you — maybe you can help improve it.
DT Research™, Inc., a developer of information appliances for vertical markets, today announced the availability of three new hardware applications for the WebDT Mobile Tablet line. The WebDT 310 and 360 are the first Mobile Tablets that can be ordered with an integrated barcode scanner, Magnetic Stripe Reader (MSR) and/or camera. With the integration of new hardware applications, businesses in many vertical markets can significantly improve customer service and data accuracy by automatically capturing information from a barcode, magnetic stripe or camera and then seamlessly save the data or photo into commercial applications.
Hand Held Products, Inc., a provider of image-based data collection solutions for mobile applications, and systems integrator Integrated Solutions International announce that Variety Wholesalers will install 350 units of the Hand Held Products Dolphin® 7600 Mobile Computer in two of their store chains for in-store data collection applications.
The IATA (International Air Transport Authority) recently rubber-stamped proposals to allow two-dimensional barcode boarding passes contained on electronic devices to be used for passenger check-in.
Metrologic Instruments, Inc. announced the release of the MS7580 Genesis, a presentation imager engineered to decode all standard printed and electronic 1D, PDF and 2D matrix codes. As the first product released under the Metrologic ELITE brand, Genesis signals the company’’s move to producing devices that tie advanced engineering with superior elegance, performance and reliability. Available worldwide, orders will begin shipping immediately.
SnapTell, the provider of image recognition-based mobile marketing solutions, today announced that Wine Enthusiast has selected SnapTell’s Snap.Send.Get™ mobile marketing solution to enable its print advertisements in the Wall Street Journal. The first phase of these campaigns will run during the period of December 8 through December 20, 2007, a premium holiday shopping time.
The Wine Enthusiast advertisements prompt readers to take a picture of the advertisement with their camera phone and, in return, receive promotional offers from Wine Enthusiast on their cell phone. This is a first-of-its-kind national promotion by a major retailer using an image recognition driven mobile marketing campaign.
Cellular South launched Cellfire coupons and discount services. To get these services Cellular South subscribers must subscribe to a BREW USD 5.99 package and then the Cellfire services (allowing search, store and use of discount coupons and services) for USD 1.59 per month.
What does this mean?
The barcode market is growing quickly and erratically. The code standards from QR (Japan) 1D or 2D are currently in free for all. This means that new services and offers are popping up all over the place.
The arrogance of the leading players is shinning out and controversy and patent issues are disrupting an uncomplicated road to standardization. I was asked by a mobile operator recently “why standardization was necessary”. He said that operators like proprietory and it’s a great way to win customers by offering exclusive services (see O2’s VIP service for Dome concert tickets).
Again above Asiana has a special ticketless service for SK Telecom users alone. Excuse me for being all starry eyed just before Christmas but isn’t this missing the plot. Why keep marketing to one third of the market when you can market to the whole market?
Often, I feel its operators and not vendors holding the market back.
Why not make the same services open to all but brand them effectively and use advertising to drive the marketing message. Surely this would be better than – “you have to be a **** customer to get this”.
The market should move to a “use this on your device; but get more services and options if you use this operator”. Inclusion rather than exclusion and there is no better way to start that with the barcode market.
For in all the world, only one this is sure: everyone loves a bargain.
More articles on this here: http://www.blogdigger.com/search.jsp?q=Neomedia&site=gomonews.com&sortby=date
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24 Responses to “Neomedia vs Scanbuy or simply a mushrooming mobile barcode market?”
Thanks Bena for the roundup, I have to add something to make the picture clearer.
Basicly we can divide the mobile barcode space in 2 fields.
1) pull barcoding where pattern recognition software is converting the camera phone into a barcode scanning.
2) push barcoding where mobile barcodes are distributed to be scanned by equipment to be validated.
The pull barcoding is getting loads of attention but in reallity is in a pre market stage. First things need to be sorted out is the standarisation but this will not be nice to a couple of players in this space. Although the business concept really rocks the standard needs to be open and available for loads of phones, this will need a lot of ongoing R&D efforts in a space where still income is minimal.
In the push barcode space the distribution of barcodes is not limited to SMS. MMS, Bluetooth, Wap push and mobile internet also are used in many projects. The recent IATA announcement clearly focused on this field and many projects in ticketing- and marketing now mark a real solid business that is here and now. Its not that sexy but clearly very sensible for all those companies who want to build a bridge between the web and a location. It also is very well accepted and used by the customers because there is a low burden. In a way its the e-tickets next evolutionary step.
The mobile barcode is an open standard using widly accepted standards as SMS and 1D- and 2D barcodes converting nearly any phone in a ticket, coupon or loyalty card. Its the inteligence of platform and service where the mobile barcode are embedded in that creates the real value.
As a player in the push barcode value chain I want to add this to your roundup because we have to wait at least 2 to 3 years to see the pull barcoding arena really meet its expectations and push barcoding is now reaching the first stage of becoming a mature market.
Thanks, Ron
Comment made on December 17th, 2007 at 11:03 amNEWS - MC2 - December 17,2007:
Global mobile industry bodies GSMA and OMA commit to drive worldwide mobile barcodes standards
“In Q3/4 2007, MC2 companies created initiatives that led to activities in the Open Mobile Alliance (OMA) and the GSM Association (GSMA) to accelerate mass mobile marketing using mobile codes.”
http://www.mobilecodes.org/
GSMA
Comment made on December 17th, 2007 at 1:24 pmhttp://www.gsmworld.com/
OMA
http://www.openmobilealliance.org/
Ron
Bravo. What an excellent post. Finally someone who really understands this technology. For too long now blogs have been riddled with responses designed to pump one companies product versus another.
As you clearly point out, the push technology, has nothing what so ever to do with cell phones being used as 2D scanners, which would benefit one company or another. In the push phase, the bar code is sent to the cell phone, by means of sms or other methods. It is then scanned at the point of entry or at the market in case of discount vouchers, using traditional bar code scanners.
So all this news about paperless tickets etc, has little to nothing to do with bar code readers for cell phones, since the cell phones aren’t reading these codes, and are just a transport method to get that code from point a to point b.
And as you suggest, I totally agree with your time line for pull method. As we know, Europe is still far ahead of the US and even Europe is still in infancy with the pull method, and is at least a year or more away from mass adoption. That would put the US two to three years away, if this technology runs the same course as it traditionally runs.
The necessary standards are already in place for push marketing basically. If you want to receive your 2D bar code for paperless ticketing at a train station, bus station, or airline, you have to opt in by registering your cell phone number with them to receive that paperless boarding pass.
In reference to the comment after your, as the MC2 has pointed out themselves, their intent is to let the steering group guide them in the right direction towards setting standards, until they can join a larger mobile group that has more clout and therefore can get the standards adopted. I think I pointed this out a long time ago when the MC2 was first formed, that it would be a much larger group like the MMA or another group that would actually set the standards. But even this is a ways away.
Comment made on December 17th, 2007 at 2:19 pmGreat info It is about time we get some positive comments on this product rather than all negitve.
Comment made on December 17th, 2007 at 10:04 pmThe formation MC2 was created in January 2nd 2007. You only talked about the MMA on August 26, 2007. You claimed that the MMA might win out over the MC2 because they have more than 1000 members.
Comment made on December 17th, 2007 at 10:59 pmI think you forgot to mention that Neomedia, Nextcode, Scanbuy,…are members of the MMA.
Scanbuy and Nextcode use proprietary codes. Neomedia and Scanbuy use the indirect resolution. Nextcode use the direct resolution. It’s quite strange because these companies have never talked about the MMA group working on standards. What has the MMA group done concretly to accelerate mass mobile marketing using 2D barcode technology? Who are the experts/leaders of the MMA group?
This should shake things up a bit.
CTIA – The Wireless Association® Launches RFI for Cameraphone Barcode Scanning in the U.S.
http://www.ctia.org/media/press/body.cfm/prid/1728
Comment made on December 18th, 2007 at 12:02 amdlethe - I think you are making a VERY good point.
I have always thought the MMA is a happy club fuelled on who you know. The core is marketing but recently moves have been made in search and barcodes that simply copy rather than lead.
Comment made on December 18th, 2007 at 5:46 amFunny how someone, who is a self proclaimed DD expert can twist the facts and information to fit their agenda.
The first time I brought up the MMA as opposed to the MC2 was during the 3GSM conference in Spain, when their statement came out in a press release about the happenings of that day at the conference. Wasn’t that the conference that NEOM wasn’t at because they were attending an MC2 meeting some of you dubbed as secret? I seem to recall several in that forum complaining NEOM wasn’t at this big event.
As for what the MMA has done concrete, maybe you should ask what the MC2 has done concrete to date. If getting the GSMA to work with them is a concrete accomplishment, then maybe you should read the link below, where that same organization is working with the MMA and recently they adopted guidelines for the Asia-Pacific region so mobile advertising will reach critical mass quickly, in the more advanced area of the world where mobile marketing is now occurring. And last I checked 2D bar codes will be a part of that mobile marketing right? What standards or guidelines has the MC2 to date got others to adopt? I believe at this time they haven’t even come up with any standards or guidelines for any aspect of the industry have they?
The guidelines and standards will only come about through the acceptance of such by the vast majority of marketers wanting to use the mobile as the tool. Therefore the MC2 won’t be the one setting the standards, the industry collectively will, and the organizations with the largest representation in that industry more then likely will be leading the adoption.
I wonder Bena, why the GSMA agreed to adopt the MMA’s guidelines in the most active market for this technology to date, if the MMA is the follower, and groups like the GSMA are the leaders?
Here is an excerpt of the recent news, along with the link to the full article.
“The guidelines are supported by the GSM Association, the global trade association for the mobile industry representing more then 700 mobile operators. “These guidelines are an important step in the development of the mobile advertising market in the Asia Pacific,” said Bill Gajda, chief commercial officer of the GSMA. “We are working with the MMA to create a sustainable advertising environment so that mobile advertising will quickly reach its potential to the benefit of all players in the ecosystem.”
Comment made on December 18th, 2007 at 3:34 pmTo follow up my last response, wasn’t it the MC2 who stated themselves back in June, that they created a new steering group to guide them in the right direction to setting and defining standards, until they could join a EXISTING MOBILE INDUSTRY BODY, and be better positioned to make RECOMMENDATIONS which they stated were their objective. Reccommendations is a little bit different then setting the standards themselves in my opinion.
“”The newly created steering group will now focus on the best approach to enable MC2 to press for widely accepted industry standards. In the first instance, this will mean guiding it until it can join an existing mobile industry body, where the group will be better able to meet its objectives of recommending business models, technology standards, and methods of making mobile code technology useful to the public and to the marketing industry.”
Comment made on December 18th, 2007 at 3:49 pmHI Brewskih
In response to:
I wonder Bena, why the GSMA agreed to adopt the MMA’s guidelines in the most active market for this technology to date, if the MMA is the follower, and groups like the GSMA are the leaders?
Its obvious. All the members of the MMA are mobile operators. All the members of the GSMA are mobile operators. Why bite the hand that feeds?
Comment made on December 18th, 2007 at 4:04 pmthanks bena
Hi Bena
I am responding to your comment “Its obvious. All the members of the MMA are mobile operators.”
Really? Isn’t the MMA a very broad diversification of the entire mobile marketing sector? Here is who they say their members are, and this is confirmed by one of your commentors here who acknowledged that companies like NEOM are members.
“MMA members include agencies, advertisers, hand held device manufacturers, carriers and operators, retailers, software providers and service providers, as well as any company focused on the potential of marketing via mobile devices.”
Comment made on December 18th, 2007 at 6:57 pmBrewskih,
I used “all” flippantly. But to be honest - I think that Tony’s blog sums up GoMo News feelsings:
Comment made on December 18th, 2007 at 7:17 pmhttp://www.gomonews.com/pushing_the_barrier/2007/12/oma-world-there.html
Bena
I expected that to be the case, but it still leaves my question unanswered. Why would a group with the clout of the GSMA, who represents the operators, who are currently in the cat bird seat with this technology, agree to the guidelines set by the outsider who represents mainly all the other players in the arena?
It seems to me, the bulk of the MMA’s members are the small start up companies, like the Scanbuys etc. of the world, yet they set the guidelines for the well established operators, who already control this market if they want to?
I guess my point is the MMA seems to have much more clout, then they are being given credit, even if it is because some of the operators belong to both groups. It doesn’t appear thats a majority case in regards to the MMA membership.
And I also agree with the blog you reference, and have said so myself in the past. Contrary to what one commentor stated here, I posted my sentiments in the forum I have been banned from back in February when the 3GSM was going on. The news came out at the end of day one on 12 February, and ironically all my posts from that date as well as posts from the 14th are missing. Its no suprise this individual challenging my integrity here, moderates that site.
Comment made on December 18th, 2007 at 8:13 pmHate to rain on your parade brewskih, but . . . the MMA has not made any formal proposal for mobile barcode standards.
What brewskih is referring to can be read here:
Mobile Marketing Association Publishes Asia-Pacific Mobile Advertising Guidelines
The PDF can be viewed here:
Produced by the MMA APAC Mobile Advertising Committee, the guidelines provide detailed, hands-on information about creating, formatting and using Mobile Web banner ads. Topics include:
• Design principles and style guides.
• Technical requirements and considerations, such as handset display capabilities.
• Advertising units, such as banner dimensions and aspect ratios.
So as you can see after reading the PDF, the MMA’s Mobile Advertising Guidelines have absolutely nothing to do with mobile barcode standards.
Perhaps you forgot to actually read the MMA Mobile Advertising Guidelines brewskih.
Otherwise if you would have read them, you would know that they are about creating, formatting and using Mobile Web banner ads.
A far cry from mobile barcode standards wouldn’t you say.
The MMA has made no effort to date to initiate mobile barcode standards.
The Mobile Codes Consortium (MC2), in collaboration with GSMA & the Open Mobile Alliance, will be the ones in charge of mobile barcode standards.
Just wait until the CTIA Code Scan Action Team joins up with MC2, GSMA, and the OMA to form a united front.
It’s only a matter of time.
Comment made on December 19th, 2007 at 8:27 amI get lost in this M2C, CTIA, OMA, Mobilecodes.org ,etc. standarisation thing. Can somebody help me in a who is who?
Good friend of me involved in Semacodes said this complete standardisation thing is too late because he believes Google set the standard. And I totally agree with him.
Cheers, Ron
Comment made on December 19th, 2007 at 2:35 pmRon, it’s really quite simple:
Mobile Codes Consortium (MC2)
http://www.mobilecodes.org/
Open Mobile Alliance
http://www.openmobilealliance.org/
GSMA
http://www.gsmworld.com/
CTIA: Code Scan Action Team
The Mobile Codes Consortium (MC2), in collaboration with GSMA & the Open Mobile Alliance, will be the ones in charge of mobile barcode standards. I also have good reason to believe that the CTIA: Code Scan Action Team will join up with MC2, GSMA, and the OMA to form a united front.
Especially when you consider which US carriers, representatives from those carriers, and especially which mobile code reading companies are actively participating in the CTIA’s Code Scan Action Team.
As for Semacode, they are on the outside looking in. Unfortunately they seem to have fallen off the map and they have become a non-entity in this space.
I am all for Google jumping into the mobile code-reading space. When Google does something, the industry instantly takes notice. Google brings instant attention and credibility to this space, which is great for the leading companies already involved (Nextcode, NeoMedia/Gavitec, Kaywa, 3GVision).
That being said, Google is not looking to create an industry standard. Google’s Sean Owen is developing ZXing, an open-source, multi-format 1D/2D barcode reader library implemented in Java. Their goal is to support decoding of QR Codes, Data Matrix, and the UPC family of 1D barcodes. It will provide clients for J2ME, J2SE, and Android.
According to Sean, “Will this be the best reader ever? Well we hope it gets quite good. Things are far from perfect, and it’s hard to top some of the great (native-code) readers out there. No, we primarily hope to provide a solid base of code from which people can derive other implementations, and to which people can submit new, better code. If this helps raise the quality of readers everywhere we’ve all done our job.”
With QUALCOMM recently joining the Mobile Codes Consortium (MC2), will Google be the next to join?
Best regards
Comment made on December 19th, 2007 at 9:13 pmStreestyles,
Thanks for the sum up. Happy others do the endless standarisation talking. I’d rather focus on creating services around it.
Just wondering why the GS1, caretaker of the EAN and UPC 1D barcode standards is not involved.
Cheers, Ron
Comment made on December 20th, 2007 at 8:34 amRon,
First you gotta “talk the talk” before you can “walk the walk” … If you know what I mean
Good question regarding GS1.
I do know that HP is a participating GS1 company
http://community.gs1.org/join/company_roster/
HP is also an active member of the Mobile Codes Consortium (MC2).
I am not sure what type of involvement GS1 has with MC2 at this time.
The Mobile Codes Consortium is focused primarily on 2D barcode standards.
Best regards
Comment made on December 20th, 2007 at 10:52 amHi Ron,
GS1 is now involved.
Comment made on February 5th, 2008 at 9:44 pmhttp://www.pressebox.de/pressemeldungen/gs1-austria-gmbh/boxid-151332.html
We will hear this news soon.
GS1 Austria and NeoMedia Technologies, two strong partners, will be joining together for the IT’n'T Trade Fair in Vienna February 5-7.
http://www.gs1austria.at/
http://www.itnt.at/en/index.html
Comment made on February 6th, 2008 at 1:50 amI think we’re currently left with a two-horse race, with Datamatric and QR being the only two worth bothering with.
You only get one chance to make a first impression, and if a European consumer tries to scan a barcode and it doesn’t work (for whatever reason, including compatibility issues), then it simply doesn’t work. They won’t try again.
So surely it’s only going to take off when we have a reliable solution?
Comment made on April 9th, 2008 at 5:19 amScanbuy’s CEO Jonathan Bulkeley openly admitted to using NeoMedia’s patented encoding and resolution process.
Listen here:
http://www.regardingid.com/audio/episode7_030608.mp3
Jonathan Bulkeley: “Everything is on the server. So the code is just an index which goes to the server.”
Scanbuy uses the indirect encoding method for their barcode resolution process.
Indirect encoding (patented by NeoMedia) is the process of linking the target information to an index (364528 for example) and putting that unique identifier into a 1D or 2D barcode. The code reader on the mobile phone reads the barcode and sends the code data over the Internet to a central resolution server that will tell the mobile phone what action is associated with the index, i.e. access a URL, download media, initiate a phone call, ect.
NeoMedia has a suite of twelve issued patents covering the core concepts behind linking the physical world to the electronic world.
These patents cover various linkage methods including: Barcodes, RF/ID, Mag Stripe, Voice, and Other machine readable and keyed entry identifiers.
http://neom.com/13.html
Comment made on April 22nd, 2008 at 10:10 pmHi Bena, Could you please not post my last comment and this comment? Thank you.
Comment made on April 24th, 2008 at 12:56 pmthis is dlethe’s missing comment
Geste and Acsel decided to leave the AFMM. You will
find the reasons why they have decided to leave the
group in this PDF file.
http://www.geste.fr/9_commissions/Codes-barre-2D-09_04_08.pdf
Members of the AFMM.
http://www.flashcode.fr/qui/
Geste and Acsel are now intrested in GS1 France.
GS1 France will put in place for its members a
technical infrastructure which will be delivered this
coming June 2008.
The application will be able to read and decipher 1D
and 2D codes. Furthermore, you can also enter the data
manually.
GS1 Austria and Gavitec/Neomedia are partners.
http://www.mobiledigit.de/195.html?&tx_ttnewstt_news=293&tx_ttnewsbackPid=140&cHash=50ebdece26
Are GS1 France and GS1 Austria working independently?
Comment made on April 25th, 2008 at 11:32 amI don’t know.
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