Reiter's Camera Phone Report

U.K.'s News International explores QR codes to capture younger readers

The British news organization, News International, that’s owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp., is exploring opportunities for adding QR (barcode-like) codes (see left) to its newspaper articles, perhaps within 18 months to 24 months, according to Marketing Week. 

The organization wants to capture more younger readers, and the immediate use will be for incorporation into advertisements. 

The QR code includes, for example, a URL. The code is photographed with a camera phone and transmitted to a server that returns information to the phone. 

The Sun pull-out section

This could include additional details about products, discount coupons, times for movies, ticket prices, etc.  In December 2007, The Sun included an eight-page pull-out section that included QR codes in advertisements from such companies as the betting firm Ladbrokes, Fox, Ford and British Airways.

“Ladbrokes, for example, used the code to give mobile users access to its Free Bet promotion,” the article says.  MocoNews.net discussed the December effort.

The Sun will include another pull-out section next month, Marketing Week reports.

International adoption levels

QR codes are a very big deal in Japan, where they are rather commonplace.  They also are generating some interest in Europe. 

In the United States, though, the use of QR codes or any similar barcode-type graphics that are photographed by camera phones, are virtually non-existent.  Several companies, such as Scanbuy and NeoMedia Technologies, have been actively promoting these efforts in the U.S., but it’s still very early days in the adoption cycles. 

There’s some good news, technologically, for camera phones’ ability to capture images that can be read by software.  The resolution of cellular phone cameras is increasing.  Even more importantly, phones are increasingly offering close-up capabilities that are necessary to capture a readable image.

Vodafone tests "Otello" search based on MMS images from German newspaper

From “Pocket-lint” I see that Vodafone in conjunction with a German newspaper is testing a new search service based on scanning images (see below).

A user transmits a camera phone photo and the search engine, Otello, searches for information based on the image.  “Pocket-lint” says the tests are being conducted with a German newspaper that provides additional information about articles that are photographed.

“Pocket-lint” says there’s no news about when or if the test will become a commercial service.  I can certainly see the value of this type of service, although it’s not easy for software to recognize a wide variety of images shot with cameras of varying degrees of resolution, image quality and close-up capabilities.

Other companies are exploring scanning/search capabilities for camera phone photos.  Mobot has formed partnerships with publications to provide information, such as coupons and discounts, based on images transmitted from phones.

Realeyes3D debuts software to reduce blurring of camera phone barcode photos

Realeyes3D has announced new software that reduces blurring of 1D barcode photos taken with camera phones (see below), according to the company’s press release.

For years mobile companies developing barcode and barcode-type reader software have wrestled with the poor quality of camera phone images and have taken at least two different paths.  One path developing software to effectively read traditional 1D barcodes that are printed on billions of items.

The second path is developing 2D codes that are optimized for camera phone photography, such as QR and Dot Matrix codes.  Both paths make sense.  Codes optimized for camera phones not only are designed to reduce the problems of poor image quality but also can embed more data than 1D codes.

Improvements in camera phones — higher resolution, close-up lenses and automatic focus — can result in better quality images.  But it remains difficult for the majority of handsets to take a sufficiently clear photo for barcode reader software to interpret.

Offer free trials!

If Realeyes3D’s software truly enables many camera phones to process clear images of 1D barcodes, it could dramatically stimulate the market. 

If the company wants to stimulate the demand for 1D barcode applications, it should enable all users with compatible camera phones to freely test the software and obtain barcode database information — if only for a limited time. 

Cellular operators move slower than cold molasses to commercialize products, and barcode-based products are no exceptions.  If cellular users are able to download Realeyes3D’s software and obtain barcode information, it could stimulate the operators to launch their own offerings.

Realeyes3D does a nice job in its press release (pdf file — boo!) of discussing its software and including a chart comparing 1D and 2D codes.

Japanese store offers camera phone method for viewing yourself in eyeglass frames

The Japan Times has published a brief item about a Japanese eyeglasses store, Megane Top (“Top Glasses”), that has created a “mobile fitting” service that uses camera phone photos to help you see how you look in different glasses frames (see below).

According to the article, you snap a camera phone photo of your face and then combine it with photos of frames you download from the store’s “alook mobile” Web site.

The article didn’t mention — perhaps because it’s common in Japan — that the Web page includes a QR code, as you can see at the bottom of that clipped image as a “mobile code.”

Unlike in the United States, QR codes (barcode-like images) are posted on Web pages, posters and the like for camera phone users to snap a photo to obtain a URL, information about a product or service, etc.

NeoMedia's CEO discusses cellular barcode business in podcast with WallSt.net

William “Chip” J. Hoffman Jr., the chief executive officer at NeoMedia, a mobile marketing company that offers technologies for barcode-type applications for camera phones, has been interviewed about the company and its products in a podcast on WallSt.net.

The interview is about ten minutes and if you’re interested in barcode applications for camera phones you’ll probably find it useful to listen to the podcast.  The company recently announced it had obtained $1.7 million in financing. 

If you’re interested in barcode-type technologies and services for cellular you also might want to check out the “barcodes and scanning” category in this weblog.

QR codes on posters advertise "28 Weeks Later" movie DVD in London

The DVD of the movie “28 Weeks Later” (see left) is being marketed with QR (barcode-type) codes that are very popular in Japan, according to an article in The Guardian.  Posters advertising the DVD include a QR code, and a giant poster that shows only the black and white code (and a URL for the movie) is displayed in London.  Camera phone users may snap a photo of the QR code to obtain information about the DVD’s release and more information on the Internet. 

A BBC News correspondent reported on the QR advertising campaign and his report is on YouTube (see below).  For more information, check out the weblog entry by a marketing consultant and journalist who helped work on the campaign.

The right time for the U.K.?

The Guardian says it might be the right time in the U.K. for the growth of QR codes.  More than half of the country’s cellular customers already have a camera phone and 95 percent of new phones sold include a camera. 

The article quotes Philip Makinson, a consultant at Greenwich Consulting, who says that for the short term QR codes might be just a fun idea.

However, he also says they “could help drive not only the take-up of high-end camera phones but make more people aware of the mobile internet and more conscious of the potential their phone has to store information about products and services.”

Popularity

QR codes haven’t seen a great deal of popularity in Europe, although there certainly are companies that promote these type of codes (QR and similar graphics for camera phone snapshots).  They have been employed in a variety of uses from advertising and marketing of products and events to providing information about tourist attractions.

The Guardian notes “Japan's immigration service even stamps passports with codes detailing passenger's names and visa status.”  Here in the United States most people have no idea these type of applications exist, although several companies have been promoting the idea, as I’ve written in the “barcode and scanning” section of this weblog.

Some cellular phones are bundled with QR code readers and there also are several free readers available for download on the Web.  Not all code readers will work with all phone operating systems.  The Guardian points to readers from i-nigma and Kaywa, but there are others.

Also, in general, the higher the resolution of the camera phone the better chance of snapping a photo that software can interpret.  A macro (i.e., closeup) capability on a camera phone can often produce a much better image when you’re snapping a photo of a small QR code.

Coca Cola in Mexico puts ShotCodes on 40 million Sprite bottles

I'm on my way to Dublin to participate in the camera phone conference (see previous entry). 

Here's a barcode-type announcement I'm posting at Washington, D.C.'s Dulles Airport about OP3's ShotCodes (barcode-like images) from OP3's Web site:

"For the first time ever an on-pack mobile barcode scanning campaign is launched outside of Asia.

"Forty million Sprite bottles have been labeled with ShotCodes, circular barcodes that can be scanned with standard camera mobile phones that have the ShotCode software installed.

"ShotCodes, created by Dutch/Swedish OP3 and implemented by Mexican KTC and Codice, connect users instantly to Sprite’s mobile web page.

"The technology functions much in the same way as you would expect from a normal barcode scanner, you are however using your standard camera mobile phone.

"Once scanned a Sprite trivia question is automatically presented.  Answer this question correctly and you’ll instantly know if you’ve won one of millions of prizes.

"The prizes range from free pizzas at Dominos Pizza to DVD’s at Blockbuster Video.  Every winner receives his/her prize instantly in the form of a jpeg image.

"This image is a digital coupon that contains a unique code to claim your prize, an innovative mechanism introduced in this campaign for the first time.

"The campaign is supported by 8 weeks of TV, radio and in-store advertising and, according to OP3’s founder and creative director Dennis Hettema, millions of Mexicans have compatible mobile phones."

[Sent via TypePad wireless e-mail with RIM BlackBerry 8700g]

"Amusement Cafe Maid in Japan" to test Digimarc digital watermarking

One of the cafes in Japan’s “Amusement Cafe Maid in Japan”  chain(see below) — where waitresses dressed like maids inspired by famous video game and comic book characters treat customers as, well, “masters” — is testing Digimarc’s camera phone-based digital watermarking technology, according to Digimarc’s press release.

Cellular phone users with Digimarc’s LeadiaPix software (that reads the digital watermark) can click on an image (posters, advertisements, etc.) and obtain information about it.  Watermarks could include, for example, information about the waitresses in the cafe, a city guide and cellular wallpapers.

Apparently, these maid-themed cafes are a big deal with the “otaku” — geek — culture, according to the press release.  Actually, “otaku” (meaning “fanatic”) refers more to people who are fans of Japanese animation and Japanese graphic novels. 

Digimarc’s press release says there are some 100 of the maid-themed cafes just in Tokyo.

Partners

The test program is being developed by MediaGrid, Digimarc’s partner for cellular solutions in Japan, and by Success Corp., a developer of games and video games in Japan.  Success is inviting more than 300 people on August 8 to the Amusement Cafe Maid in Japan for a launch party of LeadiaPix.

The press release says Digimarc’s Mobile platform has been ported to 90 percent of 3G phones in Japan.  Unlike a barcode, digital watermarking is basically invisible.

“At least half of all Japanese camera phone users access online content to download music, pictures for their phones, games, and other entertainment content,” says Kazuhio Okamura, director of media development profit center for MediaGrid.  

“Success Corp. was looking for a way to provide very unique mobile-delivered content to its café guests and was impressed by the ability of digital watermarking to offer these print-to-Web linking capabilities without spoiling the quality of their design.”

Kudos to Digimarc

The Amusement Cafe Maid in Japan for the pilot is located in Tokyo’s famous Akihabara computer/electronics/cellular district — the heart of otaku culture.  I’ve been there are it’s great fun to look at the latest computers, cellular phones and electronic gadgets that usually never make it to the United States.

Kudos to Digimarc for including links to an article about the maid-themed cafes and an article about Japanese geek/otaku culture.

ScanR blog says Verizon sends three megapixel photos at two megapixels

ScanR — a new company that offers camera phone image scanning software for documents, whiteboards and business cards — took a look at Verizon’s new 3.2 megapixel camera phone and doesn’t like the reduction in resolution when the image is transmitted.

ScanR’s corporate weblog says the company got Samsung’s SCH-a990 3.2 megapixel camera phone (that I previously wrote about) and spent an hour trying to determine why the photos they sent came out as two megapixels.

The reason:  “It turns out that if you choose the option to send the photo, the phone reduces the resolution of the file to a maximum of 1600 x 1200 pixels, or 2 megapixel.  If you choose the option to save the photo, it is the full 3.2 megapixels.”

Good tip

That’s a good piece of information.  I’m sure most subscribers will have no idea that’s the case.

As a matter of course, I like to transfer photos from camera phones directly to my computer(s) rather than first sending them.  That way I’m assured of getting the best resolution image.

It doesn’t always matter, but cellular phones often compress images more when the images are sent wirelessly than if they are saved and then transferred to a computer.

Use with scanR

I haven’t written about scanR, and I really should.  The ability to scan an image and view it in a readable form is a good feature for camera phones.

(Disclosure:  A while back I spent a little bit of time talking with scanR in my role as a wireless data consultant.)

Camera phone scanning/barcode companies are always looking at developments in handsets because the quality of the photographed image is so important to whether the software works!

Works with business card scans

ScanR says in the blog that “even [my italics] at 2 megapixels” the a990 “works great for the new scanR Business Card beta.”

Camera phone scanning/barcode firms have been champing at the bit for the availability of phones that can produce readable images.  A large number of pixels is one important parameter but definitely not the only one for producing an acceptable scanned image.

Some wireless barcode companies were hopeful that one megapixel camera phones would produce an acceptable image.  But the quality of the photo often isn’t good enough.

Now, “even” a two megapixel image might work.

Elle to offer online wishlists via Mobot camera phone images, SMS

Elle will offer Mobot-enabled online wishlists for readers who snap camera phone photos of advertisements in the October, November and December issues of the magazine or send SMS messages, according to the press release.

Readers take a photo of an item in an ad or send an SMS of the brand name to create a “Wireless Wish List.” 

Readers who submit items from the October issue will be automatically entered in a contest to receive a $2,500 gift card to purchase items in their list.

Readers will view their wishlists on the Elle Web site, but the URL for the wishlist isn’t available yet.  All you see, so far, is the press release.

Reader picks

Carol Smith, the senior vice president and group publisher for Elle, says in the release, “The ELLE reader doesn't make a move without her mobile phone, and she shops the pages of the magazine on the run.

“With our Wireless Wish List service, mobile technology instantly assembles her fall picks wherever she is.  When she's ready to purchase or wants to forward her list to friends and family, the where-to-buy information is already gathered.

“What could be better?”

Universal wishlists

Actually, it sounds like a pretty good idea — to create a wishlist by transmitting a camera phone photo or SMS. 

But “what could be better” would be if anyone could create such a list from any publication, and also have the option of snapping a photo of a product’s barcode.

However, that would require industry-wide standards for camera phone image recognition and barcoding.  That won’t happen for some time, assuming it happens at all.

NeoMedia’s ventures

Mobot specializes in software that recognizes camera phone images and was purchased by NeoMedia Technologies.  

NeoMedia offers camera phone barcode technology, telecommunications billing and automobile paint repair.

NeoMedia was on a buying spree a few months ago and purchased several wireless marketing-related companies.

Mobot’s ventures

Mobot has provided similar services — recognizing products in ads from a camera phone photo — to several other publications including Jane magazine (that I wrote about in August 2004) and Ellegirl (see below).