Barcodes at their best: Download apps using a shot code.

I have been around the concept of scanning barcodes using camera phones for around 3 years now and frankly it was a pleasant suprise to see the shotcode being used on a website to download Java applications. This thing has been around for ages now but I finally got to use it myself.


Check out the camera download at http://www.getjar.com for any application that meets your fancy.

What you need:
1) You will need to download the Shotcode reader (called GOD for some reason) on your phone. Since the barcode reading happens on the phone itself the number of phones supported are quiet limited ( I feel their pain).
2) Once you have the application on your phone, just select the application you like and shoot the shotcode.

The way it works:
The shotcode contains a 6-8 digit index (numeric value). Once the code is decoded the index value is added to the download URL in the query string and the download app launches the WAP browser on your phone. The index maps to the file you are looking to download and redirects the browser to the location of the JAD file.

And Voila .. you have downloaded a Java application on your phone with just one click :-)..

Moving On:
The technology has been around for ages now and the only thing that remains is mass adoption and standardization. As a user, I would like to have just one Downloader application that allows me to download from multiple sites. Wonder when this change is gonna happen.