QR Code Smartphone Apps And Phone Software

For your phone to be able to read QR Codes you will need to have a QR Code scanning app or QR Code scanning software installed on it.

For those without an iPhone or Andriod, some of the following sites offer the option of downloading via PC and then transferring and installing the software to your phone, or visiting with the website with your smartphone via its browser for direct download and installation. Some also have the option of setting the application up on your phone as a device bookmark.

• Optiscan - The best QR Code scanner for iPhones - it understands all the trickier encoding types and has definitely kept up with development in QR code technology.
   
• QRafter - "Best of breed" as far as the free iPhone apps are concerned. Fast, reliable and broad range of user features.
   
• For Android devices the choice is clear - it's either QR Pal or QR Droid. Both are solid performers and well put together by people that clearly understand QR codes at a technical level.
   
• Quickmark - Another name that's been synomous with QR code scanning for years. It has the mandatory iPhone, Andriod and Windows Mobile version, but Quickmark is also available for a wide-range of other phones including Nokia, Motorola, Samsung, Sony-Ericsson, Kyocera, Fujitsu-Siemens, LG, Vodafone and Huawei. It's even got a version for the Palm Treo!
   
• Kaywa Reader - Supports an extensive list of Nokia, Motorola, Samsung and Sony-Ericsson Java and Symbian phones, as well as having a Windows Mobile version.
   
• Nokia Barcode Reader - Most Nokia's now come standard with the Nokia's own scanning software, but this is good for the ones that don't - N78, N80, N82, N93, N93i, N95, N96, E66, E71, E90, 6210 Navigator and 6220 Classic.
   
• Google Zxing - For Android and iPhone.
   
• Blackberry Messenger - Comes standard with most Blackberries’ these days.
   
• Esponce QR Reader - A good Windows Mobile scanning app that does most of the things you need and supports most of the QR code data types that you're likely to come across.

While QR codes themselves conform to an ISO standard, not all app developers are as diligent with standards compliance as they should be, so, sadly, there are a lot of QR code scanning apps out there that aren't all they could be and tend to become challenged by QR codes containing anything more complex than a simple website URL.

Our blog post Not All Scanning Apps Are Created Equal presents a general discussion of the situation, however a quick browse through the user reviews for QR code scanning apps in the iTunes App Store, Android Market or Blackberry App World will highlight which ones are worth having, and which have known issues.

Desktop QR Code Software & Applications

• QRreader - QR code reader software for your desktop computer that uses your webcam to do the scanning. Available for Windows, Mac and Linux but needs Adobe AIR installed.
   
• Bar Capture - Capture and decode QR Codes from your computer screen
   
• Leadtools Barcode - A fully featured SDK for Silverlight And Windows Phone developers
   
• Wordpress QR Code Plug-In
   
• Joomla QR Code Extension
   
• Barcode Maker 2D Adobe InDesign CS3 QR code plug-in by Teacup Software
   
• Mobile Barcoder - Firefox add-on for generating QR codes for a URL from your browser
   
• QR-Code Tag - Google Chrome QR code plug-in for generating QR codes for a URL from your browser
   
• ScanLife For IE - Internet Explorer QR code add-on for generating QR codes for a URL from your browser
   
• QR Coder 2010 - QR code add-in for Outlook 2010.