A fantastic new way of shopping is coming out of Japan. Mobile phone users are soon to be shopping by snapping a photo of a special bar code which will sit alongside a product.
Mediastick, the firm behind the idea, will licence their special MediaStick-Mark bar codes to e-tailers taking part in the scheme. All the user has to do is take a picture of the barcode with their phone. This barcode can be displayed anywhere, perhaps next to the product in a magazine, newspaper, TV commercial, Web site, or even near to large items in a shop. The possibilities are endless – imagine taking a picture of a barcode next to a product displayed in a shop window – such as a holiday, flight deal, employment opportunity, a car or even a house – then you get home and either receive information about it via email, or you can have that product delivered to you.
The captured image is sent to Mediastick, the bar code is extracted from the picture, processed for product information, the buyers info is sent, who charges the customer and sends the product!
Because all data is extracted from the barcode, and personal info is retrieved from the users’ email / phone number, it removes fiddly form-filling and reduces security worries too.
Don’t imagine that this is a “traditional” barcode either, it is a new snow-type barcode. How well this works, and whether the barcode has to be a certain way up or whether the picture needs to be taken completely accurately remains to be seen. All in all though, it sounds like a good idea!
More info and source – ZDNet