Use of 2D Barcode to Access Multimedia Content and the Web from a Mobile Handset

The present document describes the features, the applications, the functionalities and the benefits of the 2d barcodes, pictorial machine-readable representations of information and data. A 2D barcode can represent encoded information like a business card or a website address. Different formats and standards are available. Mobile phones with digital camera can act as barcode reader: a software client installed on the mobile phone controls the digital camera in order to acquire, scan and decode a 2D barcode, and retrieve the information from the Internet. 2D barcodes´ main application field is mobile multimedia content consumption with particular reference to advertising; according a typical use case, a user: 1. finds a barcode printed on a magazine, for instance in an advertising; 2. launches the application on the mobile phone and scans the barcodes; 3. retrieves a URL form a WAP pages and watches a video clip streamed over 3G network. As a result, a website can be accessed with the mobile browser; a multimedia content can be played with the mobile phone´s media player; additionally, this technology enable users to directly call a phone number o send a text message just acquiring and decoding a tag. From the publisher´s perspective, 2D barcodes give the users the ability to learn more about a story and watch related multimedia content. From the advertisers´ perspective, 2D barcodes are also an effective mean to reach a wider audience; by acquiring a barcode, consumers can enjoy at least two kinds of mobile multimedia content: commercials of products or services and premium content (music video clips...) starting with an advertisement. From the mobile network operators´ perspective, tags can help to boost mobile value added services, mobile browsing and mobile Internet subscriptions. 2D barcodes bring an innovative approach to multimedia mobile consumption as they allow users to retrieve digital content from a picture printed on paper and to experience valuable- - information in mobility, without typing long URLs.