Scanbuy’s new “Scan & Send” feature supports application-independent scanning of QR Code, Datamatrix, EZcode and UPC barcodes. Users can now simply snap a photo of a barcode and send it via MMS to 43588, or e-mail to scan@scanlife.com, to be decoded.
Images are decoded in much the same way as Scanbuy’s ScanLife mobile application decodes barcodes via iPhone or Android app. The user is sent an MMS message with actions associated with the code, including links to product info, videos, photos and phone numbers.
Scanbuy pulls information from its ScanLife Shopper engine, so any UPC code MMS scan will return price information, and could include reviews and coupons.
The technology is a welcome advancement for feature phone (often called “dumphone“) owners — 264 million of these phones were sold in the second quarter of 2010. Alternatively, the smartphone owner could still benefit from the MMS feature if he experiences application connectivity issues or has yet to install a barcode scanning application.
Perhaps the real winners here, though, are marketers running campaigns with barcode tie-ins. No longer does the end user need to be fettered to a particular app or phone to engage with QR code campaigns, which are starting to grow in popularity stateside.
“Scanbuy's technology now allows a brand, agency or retailer to reach at least 80% of today's camera phone users with industry standard barcodes,” says Scanbuy CEO and president Mike Wehrs. “The user experience now ranges from taking a picture and sending it (a seven keystroke solution) to a zero click, very fast rec ognition when using the...
