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WirelessDevNet.com Press Release
NeoMedia's qode to Lead Direct-to-Web Connectivity Worldwide
FORT MYERS, Fla., June 28, 2006 – NeoMedia Technologies, Inc. (OTC BB:
NEOM), an innovator in market-driven technologies, today announced that
its patented direct-to-Web technology – already the most sophisticated
platform of its kind – has been further enhanced and rebranded to qode®.
qode®, which evolved from NeoMedia’s core PaperClick® technology, is a
suite of applications and customizable mobile marketing solutions that
link consumers directly to desired pages on the mobile Web. This
patented technology turns brand names, barcodes and smartcodes into
hyperlinks to the Mobile Internet; simply by scanning a code with a cell
phone (or PDA) camera or entering keywords or barcodes in a search-style
window, consumers bypass long URLs, search engines or
difficult-to-navigate phone menus. qode links mobile users quickly and
directly to advertising, mobile commerce, polling, promotions (such as
rebates, contests and coupons) and numerous other consumer and
enterprise applications.
NeoMedia also announced that it planned to make qode code-agnostic –
i.e. read most if not all types of (one-dimensional) barcodes and
(two-dimensional) smartcodes, including QR, the “Quick Response” style
of smartcode that is available open-source and has become a marketplace
phenomenon in Japan where more than 20 million mobile phones already
carry code-scanning software, as well as a number of other proprietary
symbologies.
NeoMedia plans to launch qode later this year.
Martin Copus, COO of NeoMedia and head of its mobile business unit,
explained the reasoning behind the re-branding exercise.
“The original name, PaperClick, made a lot of sense. You would embed a
special code into any ‘paper’ document, use a device to read that code,
and with a ‘click’ take the person to the Internet where a lot more
information could be found relating to that document. With the
proliferation of mobile devices and applications, however, this
technology saw its market potential move well beyond its original
application and name.
“Now,” he said, “with our strong Intellectual Property portfolio and our
increasing ability to scan all kinds of codes, we are setting out to
create a Global Industry Standard for direct-to-mobile-Internet
connectivity, so a powerful, assumptive, high level brand-name becomes
not only desirable but necessary – and qode really delivers the goods.
The fact that NeoMedia already owned the trademark rights to qode from a
previous business transaction made it a natural choice.”
“Mobile marketing enables brand marketers to interact with consumers,
like never before, creating a one-to-one dialogue with their consumer,
anytime and anywhere,” said Laura Marriott, executive director of the
Mobile Marketing Association. “MMA member companies, like NeoMedia, are
leading in the development of this exciting new channel.”
qode takes the exciting new medium of mobile marketing (where marketers
interact with consumers via their cell phone) to new heights by offering
one click connectivity™ direct to the mobile Web, where web sites and
multimedia can be quickly and simply accessed. qode also incorporates a
set of personalization fields and reporting options that empower the
marketer to develop and grow one-to-one relationships with new and
existing customers, wherever and whenever the consumer chooses. Although
just poised to take off in the U.S., mobile marketing has already been
embraced by major household-name marketers and their consumers in Asia
and Europe. qode also goes beyond consumer marketing, with enterprise
applications including product registration, homeland security, food
labeling, inventory control and more.
The qode platform works with any Web-enabled mobile device – no small
feat considering the plethora of handsets, carriers and subscription
options today. Some of the new enhancements made to the qode platform by
NeoMedia include:
The qode Link Manager -- the application used by marketers to link
URLs to a keyword, barcode number, or smartcode as a part of their
mobile campaign -- has been greatly enhanced. Its rules processing now
includes day parting, which allows marketers to deliver different
content based on the time of day -- down to the minute if desired -- and
smartcodes can now be generated in Encapsulated Post Script (EPS) as
well as PNG, TIFF and Bitmap file formats for maximum flexibility in
artwork and production finishing applications;
The architecture of the qode platform is now a distributed model,
providing even greater reliability and improved scalability;
The qode mobile software is now available in five languages:
English, Spanish, French, Italian and German, with Chinese to be added
shortly;
Downloading qode to a mobile phone is now easier and faster than
downloading many ringtones, with the qode platform recognizing the make
and model of a user’s handset, and automatically providing the right
version of software for download.
For further information, please visit www.qode.com.
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