The application of 2D barcodes in the MICE industry

On the streets of Japan you will find 2D barcodes on posters stuck on walls, leaflets handed on the sidewalk, even on bus stops, the Japan Rail travel guide and on the homepage of many Japanese websites. This little square, called “Quick Response Code；QR Code” in Japan, has become part of daily life. Simply by pointing a camera cell phone at the 2D barcode and taking a picture it can be converted into a website address, email address or information, allowing the user to acquire related information on-line through a cell phone without inputting any information by hand

Making cell phone data input more convenient

The advantages of accessing the Internet by cell phone is that it is instant and can be done anywhere, however, inputting information is inconvenient and the screen is small. Unlike a PC, a cell phone doesn’t allow browsing while on-line and also accessing the Internet by phone is relatively expensive, thus the best method is to provide a mechanism that allows users to decide what information they need while “off-line,” then use the simplest method to send this information to a cell phone, connect to the Internet, download all the required information and read it “off-line” at their leisure.

If important information, including website address, e-mail, address, telephone number or map coordinates in a newspaper, magazine or on a leaflet or poster is in 2D barcode form, by taking a picture of it using a camera cell phone, it can be stored in the phone or the Internet can be accessed directly.

2D barcodes solve the problem of the difficulty of inputting a large amount of information using a cell phone’s keys, creating another marketing point for camera cell phones. In Japan, using a cell phone to go on-line is common and has attracted more companies into the mobile business market. Similar technology is gradually gaining popularity in Taiwan and South Korea.