Thoughts on Code Scanning

Anyone who’s paid attention to the matter knows that barcode scanning is fairly ubiquitous throughout Japan.  It’s used as an advertising tool in print media, posters and websites.  It’s even become a basic tool for navigation and transit ticketing.

Now, finally, this technology beginning to garner some attention in the U.S.  There was the announcement in late February that DuPont has partnered with Scanbuy to offer 2D barcoding on product packaging: http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/070220/nytu140.html?.v=99.  

Yesterday, I provided a link to Sunday’s New York Times article describing code scanning. 

Barcode symbology producers were also very visible at last week’s CTIA

In fact, I collected a handful of business cards imprinted with the nifty codes.  Now, if only I had an appropriate scanner or scanners that were integrated with my phone’s PIM, I could automatically load that information into my address book with the push of a button.

Which illustrates the core issue.  2D barcodes will not be widely distributed in this country until people are carrying phones loaded with the requisite client software.  Wireless carriers will not load or enable such software until… well… until they figure out how to profit from it.  The wireless handset represents that troublesome “last mile” for code scanning technology.

The Ivy-leaguers at Lightspeed Venture Partners say that the U.S. isn’t ready, pointing up the need for standardization across carriers.  This perspective is largely accurate and is serves as justification for Lightspeed’s decision to invest instead in China, where the monolithic China Mobile holds sway.  However, I think they’ve overstated the impediments in the U.S. market.  More on that tomorrow…