Microsoft in the Barcode Business

Find it time consuming to input long phrases on a handset's tiny keyboard? Want to make full use of your handset? Try Windows Live Barcode. Windows Live Barcode is a new way to avoid repetitive input, store more information, and enjoy better handset services within seconds.

What is Windows Live Barcode
Windows Live Barcode is a set of services that transfer information between various media (PCs, billboards, magazines etc.) and handsets via Quick Response Code (QR Code), a two-dimensional barcode. It provides a new method for people to exchange information and enjoy various online services on handsets. Windows Live Barcode aims to enhance handset utility and provide you with more convenience and flexibility.

What is QR Code
The QR Code is a two-dimensional barcode. It contains a considerably greater volume of information in both vertical and horizontal directions than typical barcode in one dimension.

Use high tech to find low prices

By Kevin Hunt
THE HARTFORD COURANT
Sunday, October 01, 2006
Now you can take an expert with you on every shopping trip: your cell phone.
Scanbuy Shopper software, a free download from www.scan buy.com, gathers price comparisons, reviews and product information from the Web.

Whether you're pricing a jug of detergent or an LCD television, Scanbuy Shopper consults PriceGrabber.com, Shopping .com and Amazon.com, among others, before displaying info on your phone's screen.
All you do is use the phone's touchpad to enter the product's eight-digit bar code found on the desired item's box.
It works only with Java-enabled services from providers T-Mobile, Cingular and Sprint. (Depending on the plan, each call will cost about 25 cents. Consult Scanbuy's Web site for a list of compatible phones.)

Samsung First to Release 10-Megapixel Camera Phone

The new SCH-B600 will only be available to consumers in Korea
A new mobile phone destined for the Korean market will feature a 10-megapixel camera that includes a 3X optical and 5X digital zoom lens. Along with the camera, the Samsung SCH-B600 cell phone has Bluetooth, MP3 player, business card reader, and a TV-output. The SCH-B600 also has a 2.2-inch TFT-LCD display for users to watch live content through South Korea's TU Media satellite multimedia service. The SCH-B600 is also able to record video in 320-by-240 pixel resolution at 15 to 30 frames per second. The phone, however, carries a hefty price tag of $950.Samsung's press release claims:
Samsung’s 10 megapixel camera phone (SCH-B600) is 6mm thinner and 10g lighter than the 7 megapixel camera phone (SCH-V770) and sets itself apart from its previous megapixel camera phones by combining mobile TV capability in Satellite standard.The B600 offers the same level of picture-taking sophistication that a 10 megapixel digital camera offers. The camera function includes 3x optical zoom and 5x digital zoom.
Samsung hopes to stay at the front of mobile phone technologies and revolution with “the world's first 10 megapixel mobile phone.” Consumers first got a glimpse of the phone when it was unveiled during CeBIT in March.
Samsung is known for placing high megapixel cameras in its line of cell phones. In October 2004, the company launched a 5-megapixel camera phone to consumers in Asia. In November 2005, an 8-megapixel camera phone was released on the market.

McDonalds Japan places QR Codes on Big Macs

McDonald’s is now placing QR codes on the packaging of many foods so that eaters can scan the package with their phones and find out the nutritional information.

Known as a QR Code, these printed codes look somewhat like a barcode and are scannable by many Camera phones. All sorts of information can be packed into these little codes, from the website to find the amount of calories and fat in a Big Mac to a company’s contact information on a business card.
The codes were originally developed in Japan in 1994 to track parts for automobile manufacturers. Now they have taken off with the ubiquity of camera phones that can easily scan and pick up data from the two-dimensional symbols. The main purpose for QR Codes is to automatically input information into a phone (such as the data from a business card) without having to type it in.
People who don’t have camera phones don’t have to live in worry that they’re getting too much saturated fat without knowing it. The company has also set up short, easy-on-the-thumb URLs so people can look up the nutritional information on the food they’re about to consume. You can see the QR Codes and the URLs for each food item here, although the web pages will only load if you are connecting from a Mobile phone in Japan. source: calorielab