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For whatever reason, QR codes still haven’t died. Near Field Communication is far superior in every conceivable way, yet it’s only in a small handful of phones. And apparently I’m not the only one angry about the nine lives of this insufferable technology, because some people have dedicated a Tumblr to its terribleness.
The site is only a few weeks old, but readers have already begun submitting the tragic attempts of marketers to integrate the ill-fated squares into their ad copy. I want to believe that if enough people send in more awful photos of QR in the real world, it will just shame its creators into making it disappear forever. [WTF QR CODES]
I don’t have an issue with QR codes and to be honest I think they are pretty neat.
I just checked out that Tumblr and its rubbish.
I really just don’t get it and feel as though this article is a tad pointless.
I guess it is a Sunday.
I love QR codes! They were one of the thing’s I was looking forward to the most when I got a smartphone!
I’m just waiting for them to really take off, not enough places use them imo.
QR codes are okay, just they feel old-worldy. We’ve had barcode scanners for many moons and they’ve existed in phones for ages too, just nobody really took any notice because the tech has no real “omg” factor. I can’t say I’ve ever had fun with a QR code or found anything genuinely useful as a result of them.
I admit they’re not the most aesthetically pleasing, but can you really expect marketing companies to drop them when NFC is barely out of the starting gate yet? Seems much ado about nothing to me.
QR codes aren’t the most aesthetically pleasing? I understand what you mean but I love how they all look, then again I love pixelated things.
I know I have the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, and that has NFC….but my friend, family, they don’t have phones with NFC, they all have camera phones though.
Near Field Communication… its in the name. You have to be near. No matter what the Ad, I’m not walking up to it just to stroke my phone against it.
and apparently you need to be in a field too… won’t work in London.
I hate to big up a former employer, but Aurasma is essentially the same thing as a QR code reader, except it reads and recognizes images. You don’t need the code at all.
I can’t wait for them to ditch QR codes so that I have to walk across the street just to get a link for some ad that I was interested in.
Clearly NFC is superior in every way (even from 20 meters away) and so QR codes must be abolished.
Why is it that when a Giz writer doesn’t like something he has to write an article making it sound like that thing is evil and must be destroyed. QR codes are simply a means of communicating information. Quicker then just giving you a Web address, usable by any phone with a camera and a Web browser and at a distance. NFC is not necessarily the better technology and anyway if you replaced QR with NFC overnight tomorrow Giz would be full of articles complaining about a technology that they (as iPhone owners) can’t use.
If you want unsanitised reporting minus the opinion, you know there are a million tech sites you can visit instead?
I mean, sanitised! Doh!
I think you were right the first time, you know what these colonials are like
Not at all, but there is a difference between “these things are ugly and there are newer, better things to replace them” and “OMG, THIS IS EVIL, BURN IT WITH FIRE”.
I’ll shut up now.
No, I agree. These rants are personal opinions passed on as everyone’s opinions. I haven’t seen one rant up to now where the comments actually agree with the Gizmodo writer.
Why does QR codes have to die? It’s another form of media when trying to get information across. Though they are useful I think they are misused in advertising. They shouldn’t replace information because not everybody has a QR code reader and not everyone has a smart phone. Many non tech-savvy people are going to be confused by the shapes that appear to have no baring on reality. They might think it’s some alien language and run home scared thinking that we have been overruled by extraterrestrials .
But as any designer would know, the easier it is for humans to use/understand and the lazier you can make them. The better your product is.
I think the problem is the author doesn’t acknowledge the usefulness of the tech, rather he just concentrates on crappy corporate misuses.
I’ve gotta be honest…I’m shocked how many people think QR codes are good in the comments
Gave them a go when they first came out – but just found it annoying. Personally find typing a decently thought out URL just a few seconds longer and less ‘clunky’. It’s clever, just seems unnecessary
Pixellation looks cool – but big black and white blocks on a colourful advert – just doesn’t make sense.
It is really cool how goo.gl generates QR codes for your URL’s too
I like the convenience of QR codes. If I like the look of an Ad, I can snap the QR code and be on my way.
We just need some QR HD codes!!!