Ukoko

QR codes allow people to “scan” an special image with their phone and get a link to a site, some text, contact details or potentially any small amount of info, instantly. While it’s been available in the UK since late 2007, only a handful of mobile phones currently provide support for it, but it’s growing.

Late 2007 in Shoreditch, London, the DVD release of “28 Weeks Later” was promoted with a giant poster with nothing but a QR code but it is still not as widely used as you’d expect. While high-end phones such as the Nokia N95 come equipped with QR readers, and QR code-reading software is available to install on camera phones which do not have a reader already installed, few people are going to go to those lengths unless they have to.

As a result, the effective use of QR codes for marketing purposes in the UK has, so far, been an elusive goal with varying levels support and extremely low public awareness. But this could be about to change since The Sun newspaper, ran a “page 3″ feature on it in December 2007. Already “big in Japan”, hopefully this spells the beginning of a UK public awareness which will open the way more useful applications of the Quick Response codes from business cards to e-commerce to augmented reality gaming.

If you are the proud owner of a Nokia n95 or another QR Code enabled device, and fancy having a play, why not try and create your own QR codes.