Features
- Technology
All About QR Codes
QR codes are all the rage right now, and even if you don’t know
what they’re called, you’ve probably seen those barcode-type black
and white digitised squares around on everything from cereal boxes
to advertising posters, and in this magazine.
The generic type of QR Code (Quick Response)
was actually created by a subdivision of Toyota
in 1994 to track inventory. QR Codes are
images that look like an optical illusion, but are
actually more like barcodes that can be read by
smart phones (Android phones, iPhones, etc.).
These tags tell the phone to go to a certain
web site or web page. As an example, the QR
Code above will lead your smart phones to the
Phuketindex.com website.
To read a QR code, a person opens a scanning
app, or QR reader, on a smartphone and aims
the scanner at the QR code. The app functions
as a combination camera and scanner. It
scans the image and quickly links the user’s
smartphone user to the site.
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www.phuketindex.com
Many free QR code reading apps are
available for downloading on iPhone and
Android smartphones as well as BlackBerry
phones. On such app for iPhones is called QR
Reader for iPhone. The app is also available
for Android.
When you see a code that you want to “read,”
simply open the app on your phone, point
your phone at the image, and then adjust the
camera’s position until the QR code is within
the bracketed corners. Once QR Reader
frames the image inside the brackets, the
app automatically scans it and connects your
phone to the information.