More Mobile Bar Code Action: RedLaser Adds QR Codes

In what I’m starting to call bar code week, the latest is RedLaser’s addition of QR codes to its existing UPC code scanning functionality.

In a recent list of recommended mobile apps to scan QR codes, I left out RedLaser only because it hadn’t integrated this yet. It’s a favorite for product UPC codes and has been downloaded 5 million times — 3 million alone since its June acquisition by eBay.

The use case now broadens, at a time when QR codes are picking up in the Western world. This brings RedLaser from a go-to utility for retail product searches, to a wider swath of activities like accessing Web sites, maps and coupons. There are likely integrations to eBay items or “stores” as well.

As we discussed yesterday, QR codes are becoming easier and easier to generate and distribute. That’s the first step toward more publishers, media companies and businesses planting them in printed materials, Web sites, billboards or store windows.

This will in turn push consumer awareness. Combined with mobile device evolution and penetration, the pieces are falling into place for an all-out QR code revolution in the coming year. The question now is whether RedLaser will change its UPC-centric app icon (shown above).

You can download the free iPhone app here.