Installing apps via 2-D barcode on PC screen?

[flu13]

Forgive me if this is a dumb question. I just got an Android phone on Sunday and I'm still learning what I'm doing. I found a thread on here for the Android Network Awards, and all of the apps have a 2-D barcode next to them. Clicking on it invokes a "market" protocol. I'm guessing that there may be some way for me to scan this barcode from my phone and install the app. Is that right? Presumably, I could also browse to the page from my phone and click on the "market://..." links, but scanning a barcode to install an app is just cool.

Any guidance is appreciated.

 

[rzawora]

Download "Barcode Scanner" from the Market. This will accomplish what you want. Scan from screen, click button, and download.

 

[flu13]

It almost makes too much sense. Thanks.

 

[DevinB]

They're called QR codes. They're very common in Europe on printed ads and posters and such. You see an ad in the paper, scan the QR code, and BAM you're on their website. Hasn't quite caught on here in the US though.

 

[gillbee]

Newbie here so apologies if this is a daft question but I can't find an answer to this one. Is there any browser plugin that will launch the barcode link? I would like to be able to launch the barcode reader from my phone instead of having to load up the relevant page on the laptop and barcode scan the screen with the phone.

 

[johnlgalt]

Normally, if you can view the page in the browser on the phone, you should be able to load all Market links natively - there is no need to use the QR Code.

The purpose of the QR Code is to allow phones to load the link without already having the address in the browser. Hence, you can find QR Codes on websites, in newspapers, on grocery items, etc.

It can be conceived of as the next generation of UPC Codes (aka Bar Codes), which, IIRC (from reading about this yesterday) are considered 1 dimensional whereas QR Codes are considered 2 dimensional. (apologies if this is misinformation, I cannot find where I read this - I swear it was somewhere here, but...being the post whore that I am, I cannot find it)

As an aside, M$ has designed their own version of this, called Tags, which are considered more robust - but since QR Codes are just getting caught on in the US, I see a real potential for the M$ Tag thing to take off as well.

See this write up: Mobile Tagging (QR Codes, Microsoft Tags, Datamatrix, SnapTell) The Chicken or the Egg? at Starmark.com

 

[gillbee]

Normally, if you can view the page in the browser on the phone, you should be able to load all Market links natively - there is no need to use the QR Code.

Thanks for the info - interesting links on there.

I'm still a little unclear on this - I can view web pages with the barcodes on my devise, but unless a standard link has also been supplied, I have no way to access the market link directly from the handset. Is there any way to transform a barcode to a standard link or do you have to rely on the link being supplied on the web page along with the barcode?