QR Codes and Japanese Cellular Phones

What are QR Codes?
QR Codes are basically 2-dimensional UPC or barcodes. As you can see on the manufacturer’s page they’re capable of holding quite a bit more data than a standard UPC code. It’s an internationally standardized system of encoding information so that it can be read by a visual scanner. It’s almost certain to be immediately superceded by RFID chips, assuming rabid anti-technology privacy advocates don’t shift us back to the dark ages. 😉

These codes are quite common in Japan and are often seen on flyers and magazine ads. Cellular phone users can scan the code with their built-in camera and immediately have all the contact info they need entered into their camera, sorted appropriately.

These codes are reportedly quite durable, allowing up to 30% of the code to be obscured or removed by dirt, marks or damage and still be completely readable. The can be printed as a regular graphic by any printer, making them very flexible.

Please see this page for a detailed look at the data capacity of a QR Code.

Link to online QRCode Generator

Found this cool little app via Boing Boing