Curiouser and Qriouser: Telstra launches cell-phone scannable barcodes

Stuart Corner
Friday, 27 June 2008 11:54

Business IT - Technology

If you had strolled into Martin Place in the Sydney CBD recently you might have seen large numbers of people creating a huge two dimension black and white barcode. Don't worry if you missed it because it is all on the web as Telstra tries to drum up interest in its latest mobile application.

What the people in Martin Place were creating was a giant Quick Response (QR) code: a black and white matrix which can be printed on a business card or produced cinema-screen size in Martin Place (or any size anywhere else you can think off) and when scanned by a cameraphone with the right software can initiate a call, send an SMS, take the phone's browser to a web page: all in the interests of product promotion.

Telstra has pre-announced the service saying that more than half a million of its mobile customers with compatible phones will have the software downloaded onto their handsets at no charge. "This is the first time in the world that barcode readers have been automatically installed on mobile phones for free," according to Telstra. (And it has not indicated whether the owners of those phones will have any choice in the mater).

Had they scanned the Martin Place barcode it would have taken their phone's browser to qrious.com.au which indicates that all is to be revealed on 1 July. Accessing the http://qrious.com.a site from a Next G cellphone will, Telstra says, tell you is your phone is ready for the service.

According to Telstra "a single point and scan with a compatible Telstra Next G mobile phone, can take users to online destinations including mobile websites with to-the-minute information, video content and special offers...The sorts of content to be available through Telstra Mobile Codes include the latest news, sport and weather information; music files; maps; store information for later if you're in a hurry; tickets to shows; video presentations that give users guided tours, how-to information and trailers; links to social networking sites and special discount offers."
CONTINUED