Yasuko San is aiming her mobile at a small, square tattoo on paper, clicking a little and peering happily at the result. Her prize? The latest novel written for the mobile, entitled “Teddy”. Such serialised novels for mobiles are just the latest phone application that has caught the Japanese imagination, but – apart from neighbouring South Korea – few others.Those printed square icons, however, made their debut in the UK earlier this month (to promote the DVD of the film 28 Weeks Later). Known as QR (quick read) codes, they have aided Japan’s mobile revolution by making it easy to access a web page via mobile. Users can be directed to sites by snapping the codes printed in magazines, posters and even on biscuits.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2007/sep/27/guardianweeklytechnologysection.mobilephones