*** Disclaimer: Kaywa will soon provide a free QR Code Reader of it's own ***

Today, there is an interesting article about QR Codes at the ARD Website:
Von e-Cash und QR-Codes (in german only).

Russ is ranting, but yes, he is right:

Maybe it’s because I straddle the Web and Mobile worlds why I think this is such an issue. I deal with companies every day who have no qualms about charging 25 cents to send 160 characters of data from one person to another, or who have no problems charging $3.00 for a 10kb .gif image or a bad .midi version of a popular song, or even up to $10.00 for a small Java clone of Tetris - a 20 year old game. Unlike the web world, the mobile world is accustomed to charging for every thing that has the slightest bit of value. The difference between the markets couldn’t be more drastic.

How long will all this cool web 2.0. stuff last without making some decent money? Where are the metrics for the Ajax stuff? And is selling out to Yahoo, Google or Robert Rupert Murdoch the only way to survive in this bubbly times?

One should make money when he provides value/meaning and somehow I think the middle ground between "free" internet and "expensive" mobile should be found. It would be good for both worlds.

PS: A good example that something is a bit problematic are weblogs. People invest tremendous hours of their life writing, commenting, putting up pictures, video and audio and still they consider it normal to get the tool without which this wouldn't be possible for free. Don't get me wrong, I believe weblogs shouldn't be too costly otherwise they couldn't be the democratic tools they are, but the fact that people don't pay for them - money being a simple, but accepted exchange good - is also a kind of hidden disrespect for the work of the people who create and maintain soft- and hardware.

Image: Phonedaily

Translation into english from http://www.ettoday.com with Babelfish:

The Open Mobile Internet Alliance (OMIA) to act on behalf of to lead and the motion telecommunication industry, the handset industry and the system conformity industry, achieves the mutual recognition, collaborates to promote the common standard "the mobile bar code", the impetus motion adds the value application development.

At present Taiwan uses "the mobile bar code" that conforms to international two-dimensional bar code standard QR Code (Quick Response Code), this is a system which invents by the Japanese, is one kind of open style two-dimensional bar code, China also uses this system.

See also:
Translate with Babelfish
http://www.phonedaily.com
http://www.ettoday.com (January 24, 2006)
http://www.ettoday.com (January 24, 2006)
and
www.slashphone.com

Swisscom starts with HSDPA or 3.5G (High-Speed Downlink Packet Access) at the end of April. With HSDPA, one should get at best 1,8 Megabit per second (Mbit/s). According to Tages-Anzeiger this is almost what you get today with fix line ADSL. In comparison, UMTS offers at maximum 384 Kilobits/s.

Orange wants also to introduce HSDPA this year, whereas Sunrise tests HSDPA in Zurich during the second quarter of this year and will then decide upon introducing it.

As for the data charges, Swisscom writes:

Swisscom Mobile is introducing a tariff option based on CHF 5 per hour with no turnover minimum. [...] Occasional users can also opt for a time-based tariff of CHF 39 per month including 12 hours of Mobile Unlimited usage, while frequent users will benefit from a flat rate of CHF 79 per month that includes 2 Gigabytes. These tariffs will come into force on 1 June.

See also (in german):
NZZ: Swisscom Mobile lanciert neues Hochgeschwindigkeitsnetz
Das UMTS-Netz gibt Gas

Yesterday I blogged about the Toshiba bar code to blog review project, now I see this. It will get though for the retail business.
Yahoo! launches mobile price check

Users can access the site on the WAP site http://wap.yahoo.co.uk*, where they can type a desired product in the search box and click on the “Products” button.

Users are then taken to a results screen showing images, pricing and product information, where they can compare prices on similar products.

The new service will cover 3 million product offers and more than 5000 UK retailers.

* One has to scroll down on http://wap.yahoo.co.uk to see the search for products.

Image: MEM

Art Asia Pacific:

In Keitai Girl (2003), YAMAGUCHI Noriko dons a skin-tight body suit reminiscent of metallic fish scales that is carefully crafted from cell phone keypads. Her face painted in the traditional powdery white makeup of Butoh, Yamaguchi wears large headphones and is draped from head to toe with wires seemingly ripped from a telecommunications command center, setting her adrift and alone in the ether. The suit, thanks to its digital keypads, begs to be dialed, thus showing the vulnerable position of the artist within the grasp of any number of anonymous hands that might reach out and “touch someone.” In fact, certain guests are given the telephone number of her body suit and can dial her up from their own cell phones and engage Yamaguchi in conversation during her performances. Thanks to the widespread use of cell phones, or keitai, in Japan, Yamaguchi created this suit—a full-body prosthetic that turns her into a walking and talking cellular device—to investigate the future development of the human body and its interaction with technology.

via we-make-money-not-art

On november 2004 I pointed to the new japanese habit of reading novels on their phones.

Finally this is now also possible in Switzerland!
On nervengift.kaywa.ch/mobile on your mobile (and nervengift.kaywa.ch on the web) you can now follow the online murder mystery «Nervengift» by Sabina Altermatt.

I think I have blogged about Bar code plus phone equals blog reviews earlier... somewhere... yep here.

Via Micro Persuasion.

In today's swiss sunday newspaper Sonntagszeitung, I read about an alliance against free instant messaging providers like Skype, ICQ, Yahoo or MSN. Apparently, the alliance (sounds pretty Alias-like;) thinks that instant messaging should cost like SMS does today. You can find a more detailed article about the topic in german at Heise.

I then tried to find an english source corroborating that, but the only thing which I found were articles like Mobile push for instant messaging. Still at the end of the article it says:

"Operators have a high degree of control over price and user conditions," said Mr Delaney, "But within two to three years that will be out of their control."

And suddendly Swisscom's Ogo strategy makes sense.

See also:
Mobile operators promise IM for all
IM, Music Lead 3GSM Agenda

After E-Plus and Motorola deals, Skype will now also be preinstalled on mobile phones from Hutchison 3.

Skype and Hutchison 3 Group Join Forces

Pioneering 3G mobile operator Hutchison 3 Group is expected to be the first to market the Skype-enabled mobile devices. Hutchison is running friendly user trials to optimize the user experience and plans to launch later this year, following its trials, in countries including Austria, Australia, Hong Kong, Sweden, the UK and Italy. Trials will be carried out using enabled mobile phones from leading phone manufacturers.

3 Sweden is already offering a Skype bundle with a 3G flat-rate subscription and 3G data card. With a mobile flat-rate data plan from Hutchison 3, users can make unlimited Skype calls.

And Nokia wants to launch a phone compatible with Skybe in the third quarter of this year. According to Zennström, the Skype founder, telcos have to switch to flat rates and deliver value added services on top of that.

Via Le Monde and Ollie