Have you seen one of those cryptic black and white square labels on a sign in a business somewhere. Have you ever scanned one with your cell phone to see what happens? If you haven't, then I'm sorry you probably never will.
That technology, QR Codes, is on its way out. It's going to be replaced by near-field communication (NFC) chips that ship with phones and provide a much easier way to accomplish many of the same tasks.
Instead of pointing your phone at the square black and white image, scanning it, and waiting, you'll simply be able to hold your phone up near a sign with an NFC chip and get exactly the same results.
Indication of the change comes from Google, which quietly phased out support for QR Codes from its Google Places service earlier this week. When Places launched, businesses could put a sign with a QR code in their front window. Passersby could scan the sign and their mobile browser would launch the Google Places page for the business, with information like reviews and special offers. (This video shows how it worked.)
But last December, Google started sending out window decals with NFC chips to participating businesses in Portland, Oregon. Earlier this week, Google officially dropped support for QR codes from the product.
Today, Google upped its membership in the NFC Forum, becoming a principal member. The company has already teamed up with Citigroup, Verifone, and MasterCard to make sure that NFC payment systems will work on future Android phones.
Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/those-little-square-codes-you-scan-with-your-phone-are-dead-2011-3#ixzz1IX4B99On
That technology, QR Codes, is on its way out. It's going to be replaced by near-field communication (NFC) chips that ship with phones and provide a much easier way to accomplish many of the same tasks.
Instead of pointing your phone at the square black and white image, scanning it, and waiting, you'll simply be able to hold your phone up near a sign with an NFC chip and get exactly the same results.
Indication of the change comes from Google, which quietly phased out support for QR Codes from its Google Places service earlier this week. When Places launched, businesses could put a sign with a QR code in their front window. Passersby could scan the sign and their mobile browser would launch the Google Places page for the business, with information like reviews and special offers. (This video shows how it worked.)
But last December, Google started sending out window decals with NFC chips to participating businesses in Portland, Oregon. Earlier this week, Google officially dropped support for QR codes from the product.
Today, Google upped its membership in the NFC Forum, becoming a principal member. The company has already teamed up with Citigroup, Verifone, and MasterCard to make sure that NFC payment systems will work on future Android phones.
Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/those-little-square-codes-you-scan-with-your-phone-are-dead-2011-3#ixzz1IX4B99On
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