If you were like me you would have asked why Microsoft was bothering to build yet another smartphone operating system (aka Windows Phone 7) to compete with blockbuster hits like the iPhone and Android. If you worked on WinMo 6.5 you might be even MORE jaded. But I want to suggest that, in the end, it won’t be the operating system that is relevant it will be the apps. It is ALL about the apps now. If developers embrace a platform and great apps emerge an operating system will succeed. After seeing our own team’s work on the Windows Phone 7 version of ShopSavvy and other developers work I am more and more bullish about the platform. Microsoft really has a shot at making something really great. Check out a video of the USGA app:
The team here at Big in Japan has been busy working with retailers (and other groups) on various programs, but the most surprising activity is around QR Codes. Just pick up a newspaper and you will read about how QR codes are starting to take hold here in the US. Earlier this year we began supporting QR Code scanning on both the Android and iPhone versions of ShopSavvy. Of course, there were very few QR Codes to scan. I am here to tell you that is about to change.
Lots of retailers like Best Buy plan to include QR Codes in their stores to help consumers learn more about the products they are selling. Look for the strange little two dimensional barcodes near product displays. You can scan these codes with ShopSavvy and you will receive the information that the retailer is interested in providing to you. Of course, you can still scan the one dimensional barcodes (i.e. the UPC or EAN code) on products and get the standard price comparison you have come to expect from ShopSavvy.
Just as ShopSavvy can scan these QR Codes from Best Buy we can also help retailers power their own apps with 2D reading technology. Both our iPhone and Android developer SDKs offer QR Code scanning support – just drop our libraries into a retailer’s mobile app and consumers can begin scanning right away.
Of course 2D codes are popping up on websites like Facebook and in stores thanks to Google’s Favorite places program. We support both of these programs today. Perhaps the most interesting use of 2D codes is by cities. In Washington DC we now support scanning of QR codes in DC Circulator Buses. This month the city added QR Codes on all bus stops and bus shelters. Riders who have ShopSavvy can scan these codes to see a map of their route, their current location and the next bus stop.
The Architel team is offering their clients (and anyone else) a managed video surveillance service for $250 per month (8-16 cameras). Included in the service fee are the cameras, digital video server AND access to each camera through an iPhone, Android, Windows Mobile and Nokia mobile application. Read more about their offering here. Here is a demo of the iPhone interface for the service:
HTC is selling a LOT of Android phones. HTC has three of the top ten Android phones and has been in the game longer than anyone else. ShopSavvy’s penetration is the highest on HTC’s devices. When I met Peter Chou in 2008 at the G1 launch in Manhattan I had never heard of HTC. Peter explained to me that he was betting his company on Android. By the time we met in Germany I had a better understanding of the man and his vision for HTC. Android still wasn’t a sure thing, but it sure felt like we were on to something. I felt pretty smart throwing my hat in the ring with Peter and his team – guess he was right about HTC AND Android.
The team here at Big in Japan has been busy working with retailers (and other groups) on various programs, but the most surprising activity is around QR Codes. Just pick up a 
Lots of retailers like Best Buy plan to include QR Codes in their stores to help consumers learn more about the products they are selling. Look for the strange little two dimensional barcodes near product displays. You can scan these codes with ShopSavvy and you will receive the information that the retailer is interested in providing to you. Of course, you can still scan the one dimensional barcodes (i.e. the UPC or EAN code) on products and get the standard price comparison you have come to expect from ShopSavvy.
Recent Comments