QR codes is another one of those developer/designer driven fads (IMHO).
I'm not aware of any stock camera application that does QR detection. This combined with the time it takes to open the application and scan it, seems more convenient to place a well thought out url instead.
That's not to say it can't be the future. But having bad QR experiences now is not going to help QR codes grow.
QR codes are EVERYWHERE in Korea. It's on just about every outdoor ad, in the subways, on buses, fliers, newspaper/magazine ads, often with colorful designs integrated into it. I went to a photography exhibit this week, and even the artist tag next to every photo had a QR code on it. Compared with launching your browser and typing in the URL, launching the QR scanner and snapping a picture is much easier.
I must admit, I think they're pretty popular in the UK now as well. Every time I go through the underground or flick through a newspaper/magazine I see them.
The other day I saw a QR code on the back of a bus. I'm not kidding.
This is in a small Canadian city that is not very tech-savvy. I am willing to wager that the vast majority of people don't even know what it is. Why it was placed on a bus I simply don't understand. Maybe the joke is on me and I'm the only one who isn't getting this?
I can still remember how excited I was when URLs first started appearing in IRL locations (billboards, magazines, etc), around 1996 or 97. At the time, of course, a lot of the people seeing them had no idea what they were....
At that time, I kept a physical log of all URLs I saw (by hands, even very long ones!), just in case I needed to visit the web site. I still have it but the addresses are no longer valid. :)
I've seen them in various places in the US, and I just got done spending about 8 of the last 12 months in Taiwan. QR codes were bloody well everywhere.
