Google announced yesterday that, in an effort to help you find the best places to shop, eat, and hang out, they are sending out over 100,000 window decals containing QR Codes, or, Mobile Tags as they are commonly referred to, to the me most sought out and researched for local businesses on Google and Google Maps. Google is calling these businesses the “Favorite Places on Google” and you’ll now start to find them in over 9,000 towns and cities, in all 50 states.
Each window decal has a unique bar code, known as a QR code that you can scan with any of hundreds of mobile devices — including iPhone, Android-powered phones, BlackBerry and more — to take you directly to that business’s Place Page on your mobile phone. With your mobile phone and these new decals, you can easily go up to a storefront and immediately find reviews, get a coupon if the business is offering one or star a business as a place you want to remember for the future. Soon, you’ll be able to leave a review on the mobile page as well, just like on your desktop.
There are various QR Code scanning applictaions out for the BlackBerry, however, I find the QR Code scanner in BlackBerry Messenger 5.0 to be the best and it keeps you from having to install another application on your device.