Cell C PhotoCode - Create your own

Do you prefer a Cell C PhotoCode or the tried and tested QR Code?

For obvious reasons the PhotoCode as pushed by Cell C in all forms of traditional media fits nicely with this blog’s style but Your Web AddiCT still prefers the QR Code that is used the world over.

What exactly is thsi Cell C PhotoCode? It is nothing new, its just being advertised like it is. Chris Mills explains more…

What’s Cell C got for us?

Cell C will introduce PhotoCode to the public in conjunction with media partners, YOU, Huisgenoot, People, Sunday Times, The Times, 5FM, Multichoice and Oppikoppi and it will be will be rolled out further via retailers, restaurants and bars, amongst others.

Cell C’s PhotoCodes can unlock a host of new experiences for customers and Reichelt (Cell C CEO) says new applications are being devised almost daily. “All customers have to do is download the PhotoCode reader, then point and snap,” he says.

I’m with Marc Forrest when he says…CellC gets it all wrong with Photocode

Photocode is a name they have used for what is essentially called BeeTaggCode. BeeTagg is a mobile application that you can download to your phone, which allows you to capture the popular 2D bar codes, including THEIR proprietary code, called BeeTaggCode.I have spoken about QR codes on my site a number of times, and while there are a number of formats you can use, QR code has by far been the most popular, around the world. The concept, has never taken off in South Africa, despite the guys from the Sunday Times trying to implement it a couple of years back.

But there is a catch, you have to download BeeTagg to capture the Photocode code. And, to download BeeTagg, you need to send an SMS which costs R1, which they will then send you a link for a free piece of software. (Thanks to Gerhard, you can go straight to http://cellc.beetagg.com, and download it from there) There are a number of other 2D bar code readers that allow you to capture a variety of codes, but only BeeTagg can capture Photocode.Not only that but brands like Nokia are now including a QR reader in their software as a standard application

So how do you create your own ~~BeeTagg~~ Cell C PhotCode? Head on over to http://generator.beetagg.com/ and you can create your own PhotoCode with your own logo. Strange that Cell C is not mentioned anywhere on that page even though this has been introduced to South Africa as their innovation.

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melissa says:

20 July 2010 at 11:25

given the format of the beetag code, i doubt it can encode very much information. is it storing a hash for the url/content, then retrieving it from beetag’s servers? shotcode works like this.

also, pfft new technology i’ve had one of these things tattooed on the back of my neck since 2006.

Rafiq Phillips says:

20 July 2010 at 12:21

Could we see the tattoo please 🙂

Chris M says:

20 July 2010 at 13:25

Awesome, so glad you posted this up. I’m really keen to see what everyone thinks. I’ve had a chat to my contact at Cell C, and have asked for her attention on these discussions 🙂

@Melissa – Are you who I think you are? Melissa L? Hehe, what a surprise to meet you here 😉

Aslamlevy says:

20 July 2010 at 14:51

One thing I like about the photocode is the logo at the centre. It allows for some brand awareness. Can QR do this?

Rafiq Phillips says:

20 July 2010 at 15:02

That’s BS that shouldn’t be there.

1. Chris M says:
  
  20 July 2010 at 15:31
  
  But it IS there and can be there 🙂

muhammadr06.student.ipb.ac.id says:

21 July 2010 at 03:58

the photocode will change the barcode
http://muhammadr06.student.ipb.ac.id

22 July 2010 at 17:16

After doing some research and chatting to Cell C, what I can gather is that the reason why are not using the old QR Codes is from an improvement point of view. The original QR codes were good, but the Photocode has made it far easier to create codes as well as made them easier to read by devices.

The PhotoCode reader can read the old QR codes, so it’s not as though they’re trying to reinvent the wheel, they’re catering for the old ones as well.

I guess it does make sense to a point, technologies advance and the requirement to create things quicker and easier is always on the cards.

Another cool thing is obviously being able to place your logo in the middle, as you did 🙂