QR Droid Zapper

Hot (and Not-So-Hot) Uses for QR Codes

2013-07-05T11:09:06Z

When our team gets together we love to mix it up about some of the clever and not-so-clever uses for QR Codes we’ve seen recently. We all had a good laugh at these two food-related fails. Much as we love bacon, we just can’t see creating traffic pandemonium for it:

A ridiculous commuter QR Code like this will cure you of your addiction to bacon.

We asked the guy behind the counter, and no, nobody’s ever scanned it:

Care for an icy cold QR Code with that sandwich?

Fashionable QR Codes

We really do love sharing stories about pushing boundaries with QR Codes. Check this: In Hong Kong a group of independent fashion designers depend on QR Codes to facilitate a truly unique collaboration. The shopping referral platform, Shop Elsewhere, is a curated database of complimentary fashion items. With a teaser tag that reads, “If you like this, you may also like…” the QR Code resolves to a personal stylist-like build-up of accessories and items which would “work” with the selected item. Each item has a series of recommendations complete with a map of how to get to the highlighted boutiques. It’s a clever way for small independents to build networks, bring customers in, and compete with the big boys.

Traveling with QR Codes

Tourists in Gibraltar and Wales, Portugal and Rio de Janeiro are using QR Codes to learn more about their travel destination. Cities are embedding QR Codes into the pavement to send curious tourists to more information about the beaches, monuments, history, and interesting neighborhoods they visit. These public space QR Codes are getting people clicking and learning.

Using QR Codes Wisely: Safety First

Mercedes Benz owners can feel safer now that QR Codes are now available to emergency workers to access rescue sheets, showing the best way to get occupants out of a crashed vehicle safely. First responders will be able to bring up the rescue map for that particular vehicle.

Construction equipment rental company Nationwide has placed QR Code stickers to remind operators of correct safety procedures as well as a link to emergency guidelines for each distinct model or group of equipment models.

QR Coins

But our favorite use for QR Codes resides at the intersection of Cool Technology Avenue and Beer Lane. A pub we heard about in London is accepting virtual currency as payment. With a swipe of a QR Code you’re good to go with Bitcoin payment option. Bitcoin is that form of tender which is bought and sold on a peer-to-peer network independent of any central control. It’s a bit clunky, but users can access their account via QR Codes. Cheers!

Clever Codes: How You Can Use QR Codes for Business Advantage

2013-11-26T15:31:00Z

Close your presentation strong with a well-placed and well-directed QR Code.

Biz tip: QR Codes can help close the deal

A marketer noted a recent trend in conference rooms: Placing a QR Code at the end of a presentation.

Let’s say you’re making a professional presentation of some sort. You got all your slides arranged to tell your story, you’ve got your persuasive bullets working for you, you even have the minimal amount of effects to really make your key point pop. It is all working for you.

Tailor your presentation one step further by slapping on an appropriate QR Code. It directs everyone in the room to what you want them to do next. Landing page for more information/my VCard/notes from the meeting/list of helpful websites/list of phone numbers it could be as simple as using you business card QR Code generator to close the sale.

Your final slide lingers as you take your Q&A. That’s the place to consider how a QR Code can amplify your message long after the presentation is over. Your imagination should be led by a thought of being of service to your end user — what will be a really good thing for them to do or know after your talk? Then create a QR Code to map onto that desire. That’s the way to use QR Codes to best efficiency.

Our series of eBooks, Clever Codes: How You Can Use QR Codes for Business Success, can help you figure out how to accomplish this goal. You need to to think about the perfect application to amplify your message for business success!

Have a look at eBook 4, Getting Direct Feedback from your Customers. Then check out eBook 5, QR Customer Connect: Building your online mailing list has never been simpler. Finally you can use the skills from eBook 6, Remember my Name, FAME! Add new business contacts – as easy as 1-2-3!

The End is Nigh? We say Nay!

2013-11-27T10:04:58Z

Squid ink on rice paper tell you just how fresh your sushi really is.

The end is nigh! QR Code disbelievers (yawn) frankly bore us with their empty claims of passing fad and no one uses them. QR Codes are here and they’re working quite successfully for millions of us.

Arbitron and Edison Research just released the results of their most recent mobile use study (conducted January and February 2013), confirming what we already knew: QR Code use is alive and well. They estimate 21% of smartphone users have scanned a QR Code, and more than 2% are using them daily. That works out to about 2.75 million Americans who scan at least one QR Code every day.

The Oklahoma Medical Board announced this weekend it will begin incorporating QR Codes on the medical licenses of physicians and other medical professionals. This move will help both physicians and patients. For the doctors these QR Codes will allow rapid check-in at training events, clinics, and hospitals. For patients, the Quick Response Codes will provide direct, instant access to their physician’s information page on the Board’s website. Patients can easily learn about their doctor’s education, medical specialties, board certification status, as well as office contact information.

Savvy QR Code users know that the most successful campaigns are those which are designed to benefit customers and clients. For example, commuters in Frankfurt Germany don’t have to wait and wonder about their bus: Smart posters with QR Codes take travelers to real-time information about their bus or train route.

London-based restaurant Moshi Moshi lets their sushi answer the question: How fresh is that? They’ve developed edible rice paper and a method using squid ink to create QR Codes which lets customers know exactly which fishery the fish came from.

We’d love to hear how marketers in your area are piquing your interest with QR Codes. Comment in box below!

Highly Visible QR Codes

2013-11-27T10:10:17Z

We’re taking a step from the invisible to the highly visible – QR Codes designed to make an impact.

Facebookers voted Jason G’s comment the QR Droid testimonial of 2012:

“I am a musician, and I had my QR code tattooed on my arm, so when I’m at a club, concert, etc, I can have a person scan my arm, and go directly to my site.”

Your favorite Android QR scanner can help you rock out.

Is that dedication to your craft, or what?

We found another example of dedication: these cows in England help promote the UK dairy industry. How? The barcode on the side of Lady Shamrock has made her a local celebrity. Her milk is used to make the famous local Stilton cheese. The QR Code resolves to a website where interested humans can use their favorite zapper app to learn more about how Lady Shamrock is cared for, her daily milking routines, and dairy production in the region. “If we don’t look after our dairy farmers we are not going to be able to see dairy cows grazing in our beautiful English countryside,” said the farmer who is milking this idea.

Britons can use their Zapper Scanner barcode reader for iPhone or iPad to learn more.

Caption: Britons can use their Zapper Scanner barcode reader for iPhone or iPad to learn more.

And when Facebook moved to new headquarters in Menlo Park, employees were encouraged to participate in a “Space Hackathon,” to make the new place feel like home. Employees took the challenge seriously by tagging the walls and hanging posters. One employee organized a 42 foot (nearly 13 meter) -wide QR Code on the roof. It’s visible from space.

Use your iPhone QR Code reader from space: it’s scannable from there.

From the invisible to the highly visible, QR Codes take you where you want to go.

QR Codes for Your Local Business: A Fresh Look at Coupons

2013-11-26T15:36:22Z

Customers scan your QR Code to open up a world of possibility

QR Codes can help you create a way to engage with your customers. Reward them for acting on your request.

The best-designed QR Code programs are ones that focus on a simple mobile-friendly experience that’s a win-win for you and your customer. Use coupons to close the loop on the urge people have to engage with you. Engage your customers and they’ll reward you with their loyalty!

Right on, Groupon

Groupon is a model that can easily be applied to QR Codes for local business. Groupon, as you know, allows businesses to offer incredible deals. Think of a QR Code campaign as a possibility to give people access to pre-purchase great, limited time offers from your business.

For example:

I scan your QR Code and it resolves to a special landing page which shows me your current deal and when it expires. Perhaps it’s a chance to purchase a $65 floral bouquet for $40. The catch? I have to buy it by a certain time. The deal’s good for 48 hours. After that it disappears.

So I think it’s great deal and I want to take advantage of it. I make the purchase that moment using the Paypal button right there, on your landing page. Then maybe I get a few points added to my frequent customer account if I use the built-in sharing tool to spread the good news to my Twitter and Facebook communities.

These coupons can be a great way to determine where your customers are coming from. QR Codes are a trackable way to learn which advertisements really worked, which venues ”pull” better than others.

We all love to save money

You can also offer coupons outside the “Groupon” time limit model.

Reward the customers who go to the effort to scan your code with a special incentive. Maybe it’s 10% off anything in stock. Don’t think you’re fooling anything by offering a middling discount on the least popular item in your store. Thank your customers with something of value and they will reward you for it.

Check out our QR Code Business eBook series for more great ideas about using QR Codes to promote your business with custom QR Codes. eBook #2, “Check in With QR Codes at Your Business” for details about how to set up a program like this.

Invisible QR Codes

2013-11-27T10:19:21Z

Get the best barcode reader for iPhone or the best QR generator Android to access invisible codes and much more!

I got my mind on my money and my money on my mind.

Well, sort of.

Upconversion luminescence — emission produced at wavelengths shorter than the excitation light is actually what we’re thinking of.

A team of researchers from the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology and the University of South Dakota have developed an invisible QR code.

Yeah. An invisible QR Code.

The codes, invisible in ambient light, glow green and blue when a near-infrared laser is used to excite the printed phosphors. That’s upconversion luminescence for you. Once illuminated by the laser, the codes can be read with your favorite Android QR scanner, QRDroid or Zapper app.

Well that’s cool.

In fact, in the spring of 2011, Sweden commissioned an artist to design new, QR Code-embedded currency. They subsequently decided to postpone placing the new bills into circulation for security concerns.

Good news for Sweden: The invisible QR Code is made of printed nanoscale phosphor particles that can serve as an enhanced security watermark. Nanoparticle-infused ink is both chemically and mechanically stable. Once the ink dries on a piece of paper the code could still be read even if that paper is crumpled or folded several times.

Another approach they can consider is to embed a microscopic message within the QR code that shows up as a different color under the laser. This effectively creates a code within a code which can only be seen under a microscope.

The Netherlands, however, have forged ahead with QR Codes on their currency. To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the national mint in Utrecht they printed a limited-release stamp of QR Code-designed coins. The Code resolved to a Dutch Ministry of Finance page (in Dutch).

With QR Codes “change” is happening now!

QR Droid v5.3.3 Available Now!

2013-11-27T10:24:37Z

Twenty million downloads and counting!

The most advanced and efficient QR Code app for Android made some improvements with you in mind.

Download version 5.3.3 here.

What’s New:

Enabled phone MENU button. One tap takes you up-menu from inside the app. This clever implementation acts as a HOME button, allowing you, with just 1 tap instead of 3 or 4, to return to the Create Menu screen.

Sortable history section. Sort by type, alpha order or date, and group most-used QR Codes together for quick access. (Store your station’s QR Code and always know when your next bus is coming!)

Tap the icon in top RH corner for more options. You’ll get a pop-up menu with Sort feature at the top.

Tapping Sort will then give you the various options at your disposal – cool!

Improvements to Zapper Tech. More aesthetically pleasing UI allows you intuitive control over your Privacy, Menu and Settings in Zapper Login. We’ve made the underlying structure simpler to navigate.

Within Settings you can change how your personal data is handled by Zapper Login

Get prompted before your data is sent so you decide each time. You can also add a password for extra security.

Lock screen option. Want to lock you device so the screen stays on portrait even if you turn the phone landscape? The scanner and button orientation remain in locked position. (Settings > Camera Orientation)

Lock QR Droid to either portrait or landscape when scanning or let it auto-rotate!

From Setting, tap on Camera Orientation to make changes.

Full color control. Create QR Codes in the exact colors you want. Updated RGB/ Hexadecimal palette allows precision.

Once you have created your QR Code, tap on the Color button as shown above to customize it.

Now you have a full RGB/Hexadecimal Color Palette to work with!

Bug fix, Amazon. Your relevant geo-located Amazon store will now appear instead of the general www.amazon.com

iPhone users, we have something for you too! If you’re not on an Android device, never fear, we have an iOS-friendly solution, a zapper app which works on iPhone, iPod and iPad too. You can download QR Droid’s sister product, Zapper Scanner, by clicking on this link. Same great app, different operating system!

20 Million Ways to Say Thank You

2013-11-27T10:52:18Z

Thanks to you and 19,999,999 of your friends and fellow-app enthusiasts we’ve reached an important milestone. Over twenty million downloads and counting!

We’ve been strutting around our office high-fiving each other 20 million times (and wow! does my hand hurt!) We’re trying to get our minds around an astronomical number like that.

The smartphone barcode reader, QR Droid, the best QR app for Android is celebrating!

The Boss reminded us that 20,000,000 years ago we were in another period of global warming: Antarctic coast temperatures were up to 20ºF (11ºC) warmer than now, with lush vegetation as proof in the fossil record. My, oh Miocene!

Donald Trump hit a 20 million dollar milestone on Valentine’s Day last week: his Atlantic City Boardwalk jewel, the Trump Plaza, was sold Thursday to a California company for $20 million.

But a 20 million number that really captures our heart is the great work they’re doing over at the Twenty Million Minds Foundation. Their mission: to grow access to affordability in higher education by fully leveraging the efficiency and interactivity of the digital age. Now that’s a Web 2.0 project we can get behind.

Although QR Droid gained access to the elite group of top downloaded apps in the Android Ecosphere many millions of downloads ago, we’re still grateful to our fan who keep us sharp. We’re polishing our next release based on your feedback. Stay tuned to this space for more specifics. For version 5.3.3 we’re making our UI more aesthetically pleasing and simple-to-use, and adding settings to give you even more control. It’ll be ready for prime time tomorrow, so we’ll be giving you more specifics then.

If you still don’t have best QR Code scanner, decoder and generator available for Android, get it here:

http://get.qr.ai

Or learn more about it here:

What are QR Codes? | QR Droid features

Win Prizes. Share Your Romantic Valentine’s Day QR Code Story. Contest Begins Today.

2013-11-26T15:46:23Z

It’s been said, “Lucky at cards, unlucky in love.”

We believe you can be lucky in Codes *and* lucky in love, too.

QR Codes can transform your Valentine’s Day celebration into something really special. Add a level of mystery and fun by sprinkling QR Codes into the mix. Your honey will have fun decoding your message and you can lead a sexy scavenger hunt or a fun tour of your story together through favorite songs, websites featuring special memories, links to cities you’ve visited (or want to visit) together. All accessed through QR Codes.

Create QR Codes in your app.

The Android version is “QR Droid”, and you can download it from Google Play or here.
The iOS version of the app is “Zapper Scanner,” and you can download it from iTunes App Store or here.
Another way you can generate QR Codes is from our website.

Then tell us how it went. Share your story on our Facebook page. We’re running a contest to see just how QReative our QR Code community is. Tell us! Make it funny. Make it serious. Make it romantic. The entries with the most “likes” will win prizes and enjoy the admiration of our worldwide fan community. Not to mention our undying love.

Cash in with the best smartphone barcode reader around!

We’re also tossing in an additional prize to the one person who makes the most noise online about this contest by sharing, tweeting, and talking it up big.

So join us by doing something special with QR Codes for your Valentine and telling us about it.

Your warm heart can be rewarded with cold cash gift cards!

QR Codes ICE – In Case of Emergency

2013-11-27T10:55:12Z

You try to lead a healthy lifestyle. You jog or walk or bike. You may go to the gym or have a regular pick-up game of hoops once a week. And good for you! But have you thought about what could happen being the weekend warrior you are, champ? It’s not a bad idea to create an ICE contact for yourself.

ICE – in case of emergency, the contact you should have if the unthinkable occurs, is for you too. Create a contact in the QR-Droid or Zapper Scanner app and first responders will know immediately how to take care of you properly and who to contact in case of emergency. Medication use, pre-existing conditions, allergies: all important information medical personnel need to take the best care of you.

QR Codes make a great partner to your active lifestyle. Create a QR Code Contact and file it under the internationally recognized acronym, ICE. Print the QR Code on a sticker and affix to your helmet or bicycle, so anyone can easily scan it and find out who you are and how to help you. Sometimes helpful bystanders can’t figure out your phone or your smartphone reverts to a locked position and they can’t access your personal information. That QR Code sticker can save your life.

To make a contact QR Code go to our online generator, qrdroid.com/generate; or within the QR Droid / Zapper Scanner App. Our eBook series addresses in greater detail how to create ICE contacts or business card contacts quickly and easily with QR Codes. Check it out here.