The Blackberry ad seems to have made QR codes the next "in" thing. QR stands for "Quick Response". The system was invented by a Toyota subsidiary, Denso Wave, to track automobile parts. The QR code is now a free, open and well documented ISO standard. Although DensoWave owns the patent and trademark for "QR", they have kept it a free technology.
For the K550, I downloaded the Kaywa reader.The download needs you to provide an email address where the download link is sent, and thats it. Completely free. Download the Java files (JAD and JAR) and transfer them to your phone. (In my case sending just the JAR seems to have worked - the app is working fine).
Then to create some QR codes for yourself go to:
http://qrcode.kaywa.com/ or http://www.qrstuff.com/ (On this page there's a radio button to select between embedding the actual info the the QR code vs embedding a web link to the information - make sure you know which you want). And you're done...
Tried this with:
1. URLs: The app exits and uses the phone browser to view the URL
2. Text: The app displays the text on the screen; with the added option of sending it by SMS or Email. On the K550, you can select SMS, after which you can use Copy/Paste to copy the text into the clipboard and use it later outside the application.
3. Other formats: like VCF, Calendar entries etc can all be created on qrstuff.com. The only problem is that if your data size is too big, there is a probability that the the smallest shake of the camera or target will render your code unreadable. So keep it short! Moreover, when the camera has a 2MP camera theres an inherent limit to how dense a QR it can read anyway.
The K550 camera with AF gives superb shots of QR codes in most cases - unless you shake the camera. To eliminate the popup that constantly asks for permission to use the camera, go to
Applications> Kaywa ...> More> Permissions> Multimedia and Select Ask Once.
A summary of some other types and technologies in 2D barcodes is here.
For the K550, I downloaded the Kaywa reader.The download needs you to provide an email address where the download link is sent, and thats it. Completely free. Download the Java files (JAD and JAR) and transfer them to your phone. (In my case sending just the JAR seems to have worked - the app is working fine).
Then to create some QR codes for yourself go to:
http://qrcode.kaywa.com/ or http://www.qrstuff.com/ (On this page there's a radio button to select between embedding the actual info the the QR code vs embedding a web link to the information - make sure you know which you want). And you're done...
Tried this with:
 |
| Here's a QR link to this blog... |
2. Text: The app displays the text on the screen; with the added option of sending it by SMS or Email. On the K550, you can select SMS, after which you can use Copy/Paste to copy the text into the clipboard and use it later outside the application.
3. Other formats: like VCF, Calendar entries etc can all be created on qrstuff.com. The only problem is that if your data size is too big, there is a probability that the the smallest shake of the camera or target will render your code unreadable. So keep it short! Moreover, when the camera has a 2MP camera theres an inherent limit to how dense a QR it can read anyway.
The K550 camera with AF gives superb shots of QR codes in most cases - unless you shake the camera. To eliminate the popup that constantly asks for permission to use the camera, go to
Applications> Kaywa ...> More> Permissions> Multimedia and Select Ask Once.
A summary of some other types and technologies in 2D barcodes is here.
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