QR-Code Readers

If you are looking to download a QR-Code reader (software) so that you can scan and read mobile barcodes (QR-Codes), you have come to the right place. We have compiled a list of the best QR-Code reading software available to download on the internet. If the QR-Code reader is not on our list, it's not worth worrying about.
Please find below available reading software and information about how to download and install the QR-Code readers.

Barcode Scanner

Nokia Reader

Alternatively, if you do not have the software, you can use the following method to download it; please visit the Nokia N80 device page on the Nokia website. On the left hand menu, select 'Phone Software', then 'Smartphone'. Scroll down the page until you see 'Barcode reader'. Follow the link and instructions and you can download the software to your PC. You will then need to download the Nokia PC Suite in order to transfer the files to your mobile phone.
Additionally, if you have the download application on your mobile phone, you can use that to get the reader.

Compatibility

From the Nokia website, it appears that only the Nokia N80, N93, N93i, N95 and E90 support the reader. This will more than likely change as new phones are released with better image capturing software.

Android Reader

		Download QRdvark from the Android Market right now and install it on your phone. An alternative is to download and install the .apk file QRdvark-1.0.apk manually yourself.

iPhone Reader

		Download QR app from the itunes application market right now and install it on your phone. An alternative is to download link

Software

Please select a software vender from the list:

• KAYWA Reader
• Nokia Reader
• i-nigma Reader
• Lynkee Reader
• UpCode
• QuickMark
• SnapMaze
• BeeTagg
• NeoReader
• ScanLife
• MobileTag 

History

QR-Codes originated within the technology hungry country of Japan and have merely only recently began to become popular within the Middle East and Europe.
Barcodes that you see on any commercial product are extremely beneficial as their reading speed, supreme accuracy and their functionality are key.
As barcodes reached their peak and began getting used worldwide, the need for more data and characters types to be stored was inevitable.
Developers began tying to expand on the current amount of bars within the barcode and how their positioning to allow further data capacities. The need for smaller barcodes also was another defining factor in their development.
Such developments failed as reading and printing implications caused more problems than solutions. The 2D barcode was then born.
Development Life cycle
Show picture of barcode -> 2D code with staked barcodes -> 2D matrix type

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Overview

QR-Codes first hit mainstream when they were initially used for tracking parts by vehicle manufacturers. After a while, companies began to see the scope for where QR-Codes could be used elsewhere within the world. The most commercial use for QR-Codes is in the telecommunications industry where the mobile phone seems to be the biggest driver of their popularity.

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Mobile Phones

QR-Code in Newspaper

With the technology of mobile phones constantly expanding, especially within mobile internet, QR-Codes seemed the perfect solution to quickly and efficiently bring mobile phone users onto the mobile web. QR-Codes can be used to store all kids of data including such data such as a URL (Universal Resource Locator) or as most people know them; web addresses. This then allowed offline publications such as:

• Magazines
• Papers
• Business Cards
• Buses
• Signs
• T-shirts

Or basically any medium that can accept the print of a QR-Code to advertise their online product which would then direct the user to the medium.

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How They Work?

Take a mobile phone such as the iPhone; nearly ever mobile phone has a digital camera in today’s world. The camera, along with decoding software can be used to capture a picture of the QR-Code of which the QR-Code software decoder and then transform the data held with the QR-Code to a meaningful action for the mobile phone:

• Connect to a web address
• Download a MP3
• Dial a telephone number
• Prompt your email client with a sender address

This can all be done within a matter of milliseconds making the transformation from a user’s mobile phones browser to the mobile web instantaneous.

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Standards

The Japanese standard for QR-Codes devised by Denso Wave is JIS X 0510 which was released in January of 1999. The corresponding ISO International Standard, ISO/IEC 18004, was then approved in June of 2000. The standard was then updated back in 2006. (ISO/IEC 18004:2006).

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Data Capacity

QR-Codes are capable of handling of sorts of data, including numbers, alphabetic characters, Kanji, Kana, Hiragana, symbols, binary, and control codes.
A total of 7,089 characters can be encoded in one symbol alone.

QR-Code Data Capacities

Numeric only	Max 7,089 characters
Alphanumeric	Max 4,296 characters
Binary (8 bits)	Max 2,953 bytes
Kanji, full-width Kana	Max 1,817 characters

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Barcodes vs. QR-Codes

Picture of Traditional Barcode

QR-Codes have become more popular than the typical barcode as the typical barcode can only hold a maximum of 20 digits, whereas the QR-Code can hold up to 7,089 characters. This makes the use and diversity of QR-Codes much more appealing than their older counter part, the barcode.
Partially part of the reason QR-Codes can hold more data, is because if you compare a typical barcode to a QR-Code, you can see one major difference; barcodes only span horizontal whereas QR-Codes can span horizontally and vertically.
Statistic – QR-Codes are capable of encoding the same amount of data in approximately one-tenth the space of a traditional bar code. Such minute QR-Codes are called Micro QR-Codes.

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Position

A great feature of QR-Codes is that you do not need to scan them from one particular angle. QR-Codes are capable of omnidirectional (360 degree’s) high-speed reading. QR-Codes scanners are capable of determining the correct way to decode the content within the QR-Code due to the three specific squares that are positioned in the corners of the symbol.

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Multiples

QR-Codes can be combined into one large symbol. One symbol can then be divided into 16 separate symbols making the data capacity extremely large.

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References

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Useful Links

Below we have compiled a list of useful links that we have found on the web that may be worth visiting regarding QR-Codes:

• Wikipedia - quality wiki about QR-Codes.
• Denso Wave - everything there is to know about QR-Codes.
• MC2 - the Mobile Codes consortium.

For a full list of QR-Code related websites, see our useful links page. Got a useful website our readers would benefit from visiting? Please send it to us and tell us why you think it should be added to our website.