QRU all about QR Codes!
QRU was conceived to promote QR Code day to day usage among ordinary people. What exactly does it do? it automates and streamlines tasks, and it works hand in hand with my smartphone or your tablet device to do them . Tap on the luggage above to see what these things are:
QRU HD is for the iPad, it is the perfect medium to create casual but effective QR Code documents such as scalable (pdf formatted) A8-A0 cards and Posters. The bigger canvass and gesture capability allow effortless layout of documents wherein images and text are put on top of one another and then arranged by hand gestures.
Color and available photographic effects allow perfectly matched documents and QR Code.
QR Codes have big capacities !
QRU fully utilizes the big capacity of QR Codes to create compound (multiple action) barcodes. This allows messages that concurrently give directions, provide information via a URL or text, add contact information to the address book, create an event to your calendar, set alarms, and gives a short cut to call, SMS or email all at the same time. The key to success for compound QR Codes is QRU’s ability to use the iPhone’s Full HD Video capability to read QR Codes v 40. a QR Code v 40 is the densest form of QR Code as defined in the QR Code ISO document 2005.
QRU endows QR Codes with Unicode support!
Although QR Codes are not unicode compliant by default, QRU has implemented ways and means to allow QR Codes to support all languages supported by the iPhone. This include support for emoji or emoticon characters. 💱😂😪😷��
QRU supports QR Code Native encoding!
At the same time, it is one of a few facilities (apps web based, and PC Based) that actually support the creation and reading of QR Codes using the native encoding options of the barcode to be able to create and successfully read QR Codes with 7,000 digits, 4,000 + Alphanumeric, etc.
QRU creates printable documents such as business cards in ready to print PDF Format!
Aside from stand alone compound (combination) QR Codes, these apps generate printable documents with QR Codes in standard PDF format. The apps generate business cards, emergency information card, Luggage Tags, dog tags, Children’s ID, Wifi cards, Singing Post Cards, and QR Code Post Its.
QRU reads directly from Email, Dropbox, and Evernote.
You can also print, post in Twitter and Facebook, email, and save the QR Codes (, the PDF document, and other files that is part of your message) in file sharing apps such as Dropbox or Evernote. It uses proprietary file types to bundle the QR Code with images to allow QRU to read the message and recreate it from email attachments or passed as a file using file sharing apps directly.
QRU HD, QRU & QRU Mini Product Description
QRU Gallery
QRU Product Bulletin June 1 2013
QRU and QRU-Mini 2.1
Introduces Video calls and new messaging capabilities to QRU. These are:
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1.FaceTime
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2.Skype
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3.Facebook Chat
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4.WhatsApp
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5.Twitter Follow me.
This brings the total QR Code types to 26. The release became urgent after the import capability of QRU 2.0 became compromised as a result of a last minute cleanup. Aside from the bug fixes and the new capabilities we have also updated QRU to accept PNG and JPG input. The new capability means you can directly import your QR Code Arts from 3rd party image filter apps into QRU. Unfortunately, email attachments still require a proprietary file type to be read directly into QRU (All images are enrolled to the camera roll, new options include porting it to Social Networks Facebook, and Twitter (probably Weibo as well), but not 3rd party apps such as QRU.
There is still a pipeline of improvements probably a 2.2 even a 2.3 before a QRU 3.0. We are also working on an iPad version.
QRU, high density QR Codes and the iPhone camera.
Any version of the iPhone and other smart phone models do this easily with QR Codes containing a small URL of 2-50 characters, however there is a documented difficulty in reading high capacity barcodes, particularly the ones containing several hundreds to a few thousand characters.
High Capacity QR Codes (QR Codes v 40) requires a minimum amount of image size to scan properly. Unfortunately, an iPhone 3Gs and earlier phones do not meet this requirement because its maximum video mode generates VGA videos 640 x 480 which is slightly short of the requirement.
QRU 2.0 fixes this problem by providing an option to utilize the high definition video capability of the iPhone 4, 4 GS and iPhone 5.
For iPhone 3GS users however, Aside from the very reliable other import modes (import, email, camera roll), QRU provides a manual scan option to take a still picture of the barcode and therefore increase the image size to the required minimum. The manual scan method however is hit and miss compared to the more reliable auto scan method.
QRU Pages
QRU Product Bulletin April 11 2013
QRU and QRU-Mini 2.0
The new version is a major overhaul featuring over 25 new features and numerous bug fixes. Among the top new features are:
1. Custom compound (user selectable single or multiple concurrent action item) QR Code facility.
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1.direct QR Code generation while surfing (URL/YouTube).
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2.direct Qr Code generation while playing your song playlist.
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3.Full/ Default support for Unicode/ UTF-8 Encoding (you can now have emoji Characters 💱😂😪😷�� in you QR Code).
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4.Support for QR Code native encoding (all numeric, Alphanumeric, Kanji Kana (ShiftJIIS)).
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5.VCard Business Card (aside from Me Card) .
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6.Business card now supports user definable QR Code content not necessarily related to the user identity.
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7.Apple and Google Maps.
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8.Several bug fixes involving PDF size while printing and compliance to de facto standards particularly in SMS and phone calls UTIs.
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9.Music Media Player with QR Code button.
QRU Product Bulletin August 15 2013
QRU HD 1.0, QRU & QRU Mini 2.2
QRU HD is a new product for the iPad, All interfaces were adapted to maximize the effectiveness of the new medium for creating and interfacing with Documents with QR Codes. The tool comprise of standard QRU Documents found in QRU (Name Cards, Postcards, Children Badges, Luggage Tags, Dogtags, etc.) and an all new free format A8-A0 scalable poster maker that can be combined with a compound QR Code (15 types).
QRU has a modest image processing capability to allow layered images to be modified. In particular we have incorporated several color effects from Sepia to Monochromatic themes, some effects like starlight, image perspective, and some composting and blending.
QRU HD has full formatting capability for the standard QRU Documents beyond what is available in the iPhone version. You may now modify fonts, font size, text alignments, text and background color of these standard sized documents.
Combined with the iPad’s ability to do the layout by hand (through gestures that rotate, resize and move the images). QRU HD is a very powerful tool to create effective messages within minutes.
QRU HD also enhanced the (Surf and QR Code) capability of QRU to create web links and Youtube QR Codes through browsing by incorporating a QR Code and Bookmark tool/button directly in the browser. Since 2.0 QRU and QRU Mini has similar capabilities but they are initiated in a different way due to the form factor.
QRU and QRU HD now support generation of colored QR Codes. QRU HD includes a tool to overlay images such as logos to QR Codes. The coloring/ logos use the image processing capability of Apple.
QRU and QRU Mini 2.2 (these are also part of QRU HD from day 1). has a number of bug fixes including those that prevented the name cards from being saved in the address book. The save facility use to work in 1.0 but changes in the IOS code enforced stricter syntax rules that disabled the save. The feature has since been enhanced to allow the user a choice to add a new contact, replace an existing one or merge the information.
WhatsApp interface has been enhanced to make use of newly published URL scheme interfaces. QRU also added an option to generate the images in whatsapp format to enable sharing via whatsApp.
1D barcode interfaces has been modified to distinguish between ISBN, EAN, and UPC barcodes. (UPC-A barcodes will now return 12 digits instead of the encoded 13 with a leading 0) - ISBN will drop the 978 prefix and state an -x in place of the check digit.
We’ve also put in the codes to recognize reversed QR Codes (white on black, instead of black on white) for QR Codes that are imported from the photo library or from email. These QR Codes are not valid QR Codes (as per ISO Document). We have put in the codes to allow recognition because they exist. They will not be recognized if scanned using the camera as the software kit we use (along with most available software kits) do not recognize them.
Any bugs or difficulties in the post QR Code creation phase has been detected and remedied.
What are QR Codes ?
Whereas a product (UPC) barcode has a capacity of 12 digits, QR Codes can contain up to 7,000 digits or close to 3,000 characters (any language).
Whereas most barcodes simply contain identifying codes, high capacity 2 dimensional barcodes such as the QR Code can contain both codes and instructions.
As with any other barcode, it automates and streamlines tasks, and it works hand in hand with my smartphone or your tablet device to do them . Tap on the QR Code above to see what these things are:
Why QR Codes? -
I have always loved barcodes, in 1985, one of my earliest work has been to explore ways and means to maximize the use of a brand new Facom Laser printer (ala IBM 3800), and one of the major task during the time was to produce barcodes in the electricity bill (The team that tackled these (I was part of another group) eventually created barcode fonts - this was 5 year before the HP Laser Jet was available).
Later on in the mid 1990s - working for Computer Associates, I was tasked to work with a product called CA-Warehouse Boss a warehousing application using 3rd party barcode scanners from Symbol and later on RFID scanners.