We just mobilized our blog in a click with Kaywa’s Feed2Mobile Reader–very cool and so easy. Now you can easily read our newsfeed on your mobile phone without it looking all crazylike. There are a couple ways to do this:
1) Barcode
aka “QR Code,” this scannable picture (at left) contains an embedded link to our mobile feed. First you need to download the software if you have a compatible phone (sorry Blackberry users). Once you activate the reader, just hover it over the barcode. You’ll be taken directly to the site and can bookmark it for future visits.
2) Clicking
If you don’t have a compatible phone, well, first send them an email request to get notified when it launches. But then you just need to manually type in our URL in your phone’s browser, then scroll down to the barcode, click on it, and bookmark it.
QR codes are tremendously popular in Japan–they appear in magazines, on billboards, in stores–and are quickly being adopted by the rest of Asia. A 2006 NPD Group report found that barcode readers had eclipsed location-based services (the most popular apps in the U.S.) as the mobile features most commonly used by consumers in Japan. Barcodes and Semacodes have been stateside for awhile, but they just haven’t caught on yet.
However, this seems to be changing. As U.S. carriers look to earn more revenue through data charges, some are (finally) embracing the technology. We noticed a magazine ad in Wired touting Sprint’s new app, “SprintSpeed.” The ad calls barcodes both “unappreciated” and “world-changing,” saying that “We can’t say for sure (no one can), but we have reason to believe that the bar code is going to revolutionize the way people consume things.”
We hope it will revolutionize how you read our blog, at least.
1 response so far ↓
1 Gifticons a Hit for Gilette in South Korea // Jul 28, 2008 at 12:45 pm
[…] in South Korea. Their Gifticon service (pictured) allows users to send their friends scannable QR codes, essentially mobile gift certificates, for a variety of products. It seems to be working. Upon a […]
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