2D barcodes (like the one pictured here) all all the rage in Japan. They appear almost everywhere — magazines, advertisements, food products — and they “hyperlink the real world with the virtual world.” A good example is clothing retailer H&M’s use of 2D barcodes in European advertisments.
Soon on Spark, we’ll ask Tokyo-based trendscout Michael Keferl why 2D barcodes are so popular in Japan, but haven’t caught on in the west.
In the meantime, we want you to keep your eyes peeled for 2D barcodes. If you see one, snap a photo, then upload it to Spark’s Flickr Pool. Include a note about when and where you saw it. One lucky barcode-spotter will win a spiffy Spark grocery bag.
The Canadian angle to this story is the semacode technology was designed by a Waterloo, ON company of the same name: http://www.semacode.com
2D bar codes are all the rage on Air Canada and Via Rail e-tickets.
I’ve posted two 2D Barcodes on the Spark Flikr page. One from a bottle of handsoap and one from baby wash of all things. For babies with the latest barcode-reading cellphones from Japan I suppose.
so excited today when I looked down and my pringles had the barcode!
Ha! I just ordered an e-ticket and saw the code on it!
This past year, seeing one of these in the “wild” was like seeing a praying mantis in the bushes- it commands my attention.
And I just had a great idea how these could be used in my life-
I’ve seen these around Toronto during the summer. Didn’t know what to do with it. I think there are online programs that will read them.
saw win at cbc at
APPROX. 12:45 PM sePT 3
UNCHAINED MELODY WAS PLAYING BY FLOYD CHALMER
mobile.Barcle.comreads 2 codes: Both QR codes and Microsoft Tag codes
and 1D UPC/EAN/SKU codes. The site has over 22 million products covering
60 000 brands from over 1400 datafeed partners. There are a pile of Canadian
partners including Indigo books, Tiger Canada and others.
New report on NBC5 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZEjzk4r-JI
Nothing to join. Free to use. Great way to get product info and pricing while mobile.
The development team for Barcle is based in Montreal.
I'm under the impression that many Canadian ports of products don't work though. One example is Pringle Chips. They use different UPC codes in the US than in Canada. I'd imagine that many items would suffer similar fates as our language laws call for unique packaging on all products.
Taylor, you are right TWICE!
1. If the product sold in Canada has a different packaging it will have a different
Uniform Product Code which is registered through GS1 Canada and not GS1 USA.
2. The problem has to do with Canadina Retailers not having decent datafeeds or including the product symbology in the datafeed (whether 1D or 2D). Barcle concentrates on bigger ticket items such as electronics, apparel, automotive, office but could easily do grocery items ( smaller) and larger (cars). The question is whether you would switch grocery stores over 15 cents on a can of pringles. When it comes to $200 on a flat screen TV or $150 for the diffrence on 4 new tires the difference is much more substantial and that is where Barcle makes sense.
Because, by scanning the barcode or 2D code which is unique to the product
you are sure that you are compare the right product to the right price.
We are very enthuastic about the potential for using symbologies as portals to
web based applications that will both empower and inform consumers.
http://www.barcle.com / mobile.barcle.com
sony hdtvs are going to be the hardest Christmas gifts to find but I found mine at http://astore.amazon.com/50-inch-lg-hdtv-for-sale-20