Barcodes are everywhere, it seems. They help retailers keep inventory of the products we buy, and track the packages we ship. And now they could help you find a better deal, find that bin you stored your beach clothes in, or even help you avoid catching the flu.
I've written about how mobile applications are changing retail by arming cell phone users with real-time information about products and prices while they shop. But one application is taking barcodes even further.
ScanLife, a mobile application from a company called ScanBuy is now available for free to Verizon wireless customers, connects both normal barcodes and "two-dimensional" (2D) barcodes on just about any object to online content.
Connecting barcodes to the web isn't a new idea, and it's one that's fizzled before. Early in the last decade, a device called the CueCat used barcodes in magazine articles and advertisements to connect readers to online content.
But that was before the mobile Internet took off, and before most cell phones had cameras. ScanBuy is trying again to connect things in the real world to online content by way of its software and barcodes.
ScanBuy's EZcode, a barcode made up of a matrix of white and black squares, is now being used in magazine advertisements, on posters, and even on business cards and other objects. The barcodes connect to product reviews, company information, social network connections, special offers, and even downloadable apps for your mobile phone. Car & Driver
For example, using a mobile phone with ScanLife to scan either 2D barcode or the UPC code located on packages of Zytrel XP hand sanitizer will connect you to information on three different sites: H1N1 news from the CDC, influenza prevention tips from flu.gov and additional safety and product information on Zytrel XP's website.
The EZcode technology is also being used to act as a virtual tourguide. Antenna Audio uses EZcode barcodes to provide audio tours of cities and museums over mobile phones, and CitySearch is using them to provide users access to restaurant reviews and other information about local spots in San Francisco.
The barcodes have been used as part of a number of mobile phone scavenger hunt games. ScanBuy even allows you to create your own barcodes, to put on just about anything. This sort of "augmented reality" application could help record information about medications, personal reminders, or even what's in those mysterious containers in your fridge.