While QR codes are recognized and used more frequently now than ever, they are far from ubiquitous. Today, TechCrunch came out with a nice piece suggesting something that would make them mainstream: make every smartphone camera into a scanner.
Many in the tech community expect a new technology, NFC, to become commonplace. The article argues for not waiting for a whole new generation of chips to make their way into the hands of every consumer when we already carry devices that can do the job. So much can be communicated via simple URLs: just look at any web page. By making standard digital cameras just a bit smarter, they can become scanners that link users to remote resources.
One interesting approach is to make the QR code blend into the artwork surrounding it. Visualead has developed a nice approach: upload an image to their site along with your target URL and they will overlay a QR code onto your image.
Can you see the Bitmenu URL in the image above? Our Sellers can use the Visualead site to attractively present their items for sale.