Some of you may have noticed a strange badge appearing on the lower part of the pages at the new MyCen Maps beta. The thingy is a QR (Quick Response) Code. So what can you do with it?
Scanning a QR Code
Just like barcodes, the QR codes contain info that can be extracted with a scanner. With an iPhone, Android or Symbian smartphone, you can install a scanning application and the phone’s camera will function as a bar code reader.
For my Android-powered Samsung Galaxy S, I use the free app ‘Barcode Scanner’, downloaded from the Market. Just point the camera at the code on your PC screen (screenshot 1) and it will convert it to a link almost instantly (screenshot 2). You can then either e-mail, bookmark or open it right away in your mobile browser (provided data, 3g or gprs connection is available).
Why would you want to get a particular MyCen Map page into your mobile phone? When you are on the road and heading for that unfamiliar area. All the integrated info such as map, pictures, nearby hotels, police stations, landmarks, GPS coordinates and other links will come in handy.
Of course, there are other ways to get an address into your phone but this is a quick and dirty method. Incidentally, the codes can be printed and scanned off a t-shirt too, if the wearer is not too voluptuous 🙂
