Cell Phone Makers Working on Common Barcode Standard for US and Europe
You might be familiar with barcode-scanning cell phones, which allows you to use your cell phone like a shopping assistant, displaying information about and coupons for products when you scan the product's bar code into the phone. They've been around in Korea and Japan for a while (of course – everything cool and gadgety starts there), but they may finally be heading west. According to Marketplace, cell phone companies, Hewlett Packard and a marketing company called Publicis are meeting in London to settle on a barcode reading standard that will be incorporated across manufacturers and networks for easy compatibility.
No word on when we'll be seeing these phones, of course, but the idea is still very exciting. Imagine going to a computer parts show, for example and not having to spec out every possible variation of a part you're looking for beforehand (yes, I've done this). Instead, if you see something you're not familiar with, you can scan the barcode and have the phone pull up reviews and comparative prices so you know exactly what you'd be getting. Good stuff.
