QR and Barcode scanners

If you're looking for something that you didn't know you needed, bar codes scanners are part of it.

There's two basic types of bar codes:

Standard bar codes are one dimensional codes that you see behind every product you buy.  They encode a short string, often a number, in a linear machine-readable format.

QR, for Quick Response, are 2D codes you now see in magazines, shop windows, web pages, T-Shirts and almost everywhere else.  They can encode much more information and are often used to give URLs or contact info.

Being able to scan those means that when you see something interesting that's got a code, pointing your phone at it will let you instantly open their web page without any typing.

And for linear codes, being able to read them can also bring huge gains... here's an example:  You're in a store and you see that expensive gizmo you've been craving.  Is there a better price online?  Maybe another store around have it on sale?  Just scan it's code and let an app like Google Shopper do the rest!

Scanner apps can offer more or less features.  1D and/or 2D scanning, opening URLs in your browser and adding contacts to your address book, using online services to find products and shop for them, etc.  Some also offer bar code generation, so you can render your contact information or the address of your favorite restaurant on your phone's screen for your friends to scan.

My pick, QR Barcode Scanner offer all of those features in a clean and simple interface.  For some reason, it also scan codes much faster that other similar apps.

Even tough you might not use it often, install it and put a link somewhere easy to reach for those times when it'll come in handy.  You'll be glad you knew about it and had it ready.