What are QR codes and how do they work?
Surely you have seen QR codes before. In fact, I’m positive you like These little black and white two-dimensional codes are taking over. You can find them on posters, billboards, business cards, coffee mugs, mouse pads… You get the picture. They are everywhere!
These codes can be scanned with a smartphone, provided the owner of the phone has downloaded a QR “reader” or “scanner” from the Internet. These readers are available for free and can be added to an iPhone, Blackberry, or Android phone. Once downloaded, a user can quickly and easily hold their device up to a QR code and “scan” it.
The ‘QR’ in the QR code is an abbreviation for “quick response” code. As the name implies, these codes provide a very “quick” response when scanned with a mobile phone. What is the answer, you ask? The great thing about QR codes is that the “answer” can be pretty much anything.
In essence, a quick response code is simply a barcode that encodes information. In this way, a hyperlink can be liked on the Internet. When the device scans the code, the phone’s browser will launch and transport the user to the home page that was programmed into the QR code. Because landing pages can be programmed to be absolutely anything, QR codes are incredibly versatile.
A quick response code can be liked for a vehicle, and a landing page can be liked for the destination. If you’re riding in a convertible Mustang, does that mean you’re automatically headed to Tallahassee? Of course not. It could be headed anywhere in North America. In the same way, quick response codes are not limited to reaching a destination. This makes them incredibly useful and innovative, because they are, to continue the analogy, very fast and effective vehicles.
Want some concrete examples of what QR codes can achieve when programmed correctly? QR codes can:
open a video
Collect contact information
Donation process
To make a phone call
see a map
Participate in a contest
Interact with social networking sites
Coordinate a treasure hunt
And much more!
I could go on with hundreds of things quick response codes can do, but I won’t waste your time. I think you get the basic idea: these codes can do anything what they are programmed to do. So if you can find a mobile solutions company that can provide you with this technology, you’ll be able to jump on the rapid response bandwagon.
