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   Apple Could Make QR Codes Work with a Simple Tweak

   Glenn Fleishman

   Among my friends, I'm known as a QR Code fanatic, which isn't quite
   true. QR Codes are the most popular form of 2D tags, which use regions
   of dots or rectangles inside a shape (typically square) to encode
   information densely. QR Codes often encode a URL, but can also include
   text or an address card. You can see an example of a QR Code tag at the
   bottom of this page, in fact.

   These codes seem ridiculous to many. 'I could just type in the URL,'
   folks say, which is true. But that means the URL has to be legible from
   where you stand or sit. It can be a hassle to type in complex URLs on a
   mobile device, especially short URLs that have text like '3jkx81klk' as
   part of the path. You might rather just walk away or snap a picture of
   the URL for later entry.

   I think about QR Codes as analog glue between two digital media. I'm
   doing something in the world of atoms, and I want to translate it into
   bits. A QR Code is an efficient, if currently awkward, way of making
   that transition. QR Codes can also be tied to location. Some cities
   have added QR Codes to kiosks and wayfinders because that lets someone
   get highly specific information related to the location in question.

   My friends give me a hard time because that I thought QR Codes were
   just around the corner from worldwide popularity (not just in Japan,
   where their usage originated) back in 2009. I wrote [1]this Economist
   article in August 2009 about the growing market, and a number of deals
   with cellular carriers. I [2]penned a follow-up in 2010, when I started
   seeing QR Codes everywhere, and they began to be included in TV ads.
   But QR Code use never ignited.

   A colleague at the Economist [3]just filed this update in June that
   says 'just around the corner' appears to be here at last. Nearly every
   day, I see a story about where QR Codes have cropped up lately. For
   instance, Simon & Schuster, the large book publisher, has opted to put
   2D tags [4]on the back of every book. But despite these changes, I've
   changed my tune and I am now unconvinced, because too much friction
   remains.

   The problem is workflow. In Japan, where a large percentage of the
   population uses a QR Code at least once a month, that was solved over a
   decade ago with agreements among advertisers, publishers, mobile
   carriers, and handset makers. Turning a QR Code into a URL or text on
   phones sold in Japan is a simple operation, as easy as pressing a
   single button if I understand it right.

   In the United States and most other countries, that's simply not the
   case. On my iPhone, to scan a QR Code, I have to unlock my iPhone, and
   then find and launch [5]QuickMark, a $0.99 app from SimpleAct that can
   scan many barcode and 2D code formats, and can produce them as well.
   (The firm makes a free app, horribly titled [6]Best Barcode Scanner,
   that has fewer features.) Once I've opened the app, a camera sheet has
   to come up, which can take several seconds, and then I have to center
   the 2D code on the screen. QuickMark automatically recognizes the code
   as soon as it's centered (all other apps perform analysis only when you
   tap a button to take a picture). Then you can choose whether to open a
   URL if one is embedded.

   But imagine an alternative that would change the way QR Codes are used
   with a single software update.
   [7][tn_QR-code-recognition-mockup.jpg]
    1. Tap the Home button on your iPhone.
    2. Slide the Camera button up to activate the camera.
    3. Point at a QR Code.
    4. The Camera app notices the QR Code and lets you tap it, just as
       with face recognition.
    5. You're prompted to open a URL in Safari. Tap, and Safari launches.

   If the Camera app were revised to make this operation as simple as
   that, you'd be more inclined to start using QR Codes, wouldn't you? Or
   does it still seem like an inane notion, and that typing in a URL is
   the better solution?

References

   1. http://www.economist.com/node/14257721
   2. http://www.economist.com/blogs/babbage/2010/09/2d_codes
   3. http://www.economist.com/node/21556993
   4. http://paidcontent.org/2012/07/02/simon-schuster-is-adding-qr-codes-to-all-its-print-books-will-readers-bite/
   5. http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/best-barcode-scanner-scan/id454087075?mt=8
   6. http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/quickmark-qr-code-reader/id384883554?mt=8
   7. http://tidbits.com/resources/2012-07/QR-code-recognition-mockup.jpg

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