Google I/O 2011 will be going live in less than 2 hours at Moscone Center, San Francisco. The event will run for two days May 10-11, 2011.
Didn’t get a chance to book a seat at Google I/O 2011? Don’t worry! Here are a couple of sites where you can stay updated with the live keynote of Google’s event.
Google is expected to launch new Android version codenamed Ice Cream, new phone announcements and also maybe Google Music. Amazon recently launched Cloud Player, and maybe Google is also working hard to get in the Music business..
Scheduled times for the event in different parts of the world:
Google Translate is quite a useful web-app. It is available for several years now. Google has now released iPhone app that lets you translate your text/speech to more than 50 languages.
This new app accepts voice input from 15 languages. This app is quite useful if you’re traveling in some other country and don’t know it’s native language. You can listen to your translations spoken in one of about 23 different languages, including Arabic, Polish, Portugese, and Hindi.
Here are the features of Google Translate app:
Translate text between 57 languages
Translate by speaking the text instead of typing it (15 languages)
Listen to your translations spoken aloud (23 languages)
Display translations in full screen mode to make it easier for others nearby to read
Star your favorite translations for quick access even when you’re offline
Access your translation history even when you’re offline
Spell out the translation of non-Latin script languages (e.g. Chinese, Japanese, etc..) in Latin characters to read it phonetically (e.g. Pinyin, Romaji)
View additional dictionary results for single words or short phrases
Google Translate for iPhone, iPad and iPod – iTunes link
Note: Internet Connection is required for translating using this app.
Many people out there don’t have good idea about QR codes. So, firstly, I’m going to tell about what are QR codes and how can they be scanned and generated. If you already know this, you can skip to the latter part of the post, where I tell about uses of QR codes for mobile marketing.
What is a QR code?
A Quick Response (QR) code is a two-dimensional code which is readable by camera phones. From the barcode, information such as text, photos, videos, URLs etc can be retrieved.
The use of QR code started in Japan by Toyota co.
This is the QR code for my blog generated by SPARQcode.com
How does the cellphone camera read the code?
The cellphone camera reads the barcode and gathers the information related to it. I used my iPhone 4 earlier today and used the Google mobile app [iTunes link]. The image search feature of this app helps to scan you the barcodes.
There’s also an independent app available, i-nigma [iTunes link]. This app is also cool, it’s really fast. You just place your camera over the barcode and the information is immediately retrieved. Super fast!
i-nigma is supported on variety of handsets across different manufacturers. Here’s the compatibility page for the app.
How to generate a QR code?
You can easily generate a QR code using a site like SPARQcode.com. QR Barcode generator is very easy to use. Just register for an account and you can create QR codes for your Facebook, Twitter, your website. If you have an office/restaurant, you can also create barcode for a point on the map.
There are lot more features on this QR Generator page. You can create QR codes for vCards, SMS, even for links of different appstore apps. That’s cool!
There’s also QR code alternative for SPARQcode. This is developed and marketed by Microsoft.
QR Barcode also shows number of times the barcode has been scanned in the dashboard. For a free user, 250 scans are allotted, you can upgrade to Pro as your business advances.
How to use QR Codes to Market Your Business?
Almost everyone today has a smartphone. When people are in stores, and your products have QR codes on them, the customers can scan the code and obtain additional information related to your product. This information might include link to your website, your contact information, or link to your social networking accounts.
This is definitely very much beneficial for your small business. Mobile marketing is in work here.
Here are a few ways that you can use QR codes to spruce up your small business marketing strategies.
Distribute Freebies: You can use QR codes to distribute out free stuff. This way people will get more chance to interact with your company. Also, people will automatically market your free stuffs to other people, their friends or relatives.
Product catalogs: Sellers can distribute catalogs/brochures which contain the product details. These product details can contain the QR barcodes, which will help customers to interact with the sellers. They can simply scan the barcodes and get further details of the product, i.e. product availability, any discounts on products, etc.
Business cards: Just print your QR code on visiting card and people will get a curiosity to scan it up. QR codes marketing is developing and as I said, many people are unaware of it, you can out stand from your competition. These QR codes can re-direct to your contact information, social networking accounts, etc.
Poster, TV advertisements: You can put up a poster advertisement in your local area marketing about your business. Or you can book a slot for a Television advertisement. People coming around these ads can explore the QR codes to get more information about your products.
In storefront window: Google was reported to send out QR codes to shop owners in the US. These shops were then listed in the Google Places.. It was a great opportunity to market your shops, restaurants on the maps. If you didn’t get QR code by Google, you can generate your own QR codes and place it outside your shop windows.
Conclusion
You can also add QR codes to your website, e-mail signatures, blogs, etc. The search engines will see a new image and index it accordingly. At some point soon, the search engines will likely recognize QR codes and possibly index the content in them.
So, how many of you use QR codes for your business, or will be using after reading this article?
Mac video tutorial company, MacProVideo, on Friday released its iPhone app, allowing customers to transfer and watch video tutorials on the iPhone. The company also released a new set of tutorials for users of Adobe’s professional video software, Premiere.
N.E.D.i (Nonlinear Educating Device for iPhone) features detailed menus that let you quickly find topics and videos that you are looking for. The app also gives you access to the company’s forums, so you can get help from fellow users if you need it.
In addition to the iPhone app, DesignProVideo (MacProVideo’s sister site) released a new set of videos called Premiere CS4 101: Core Premiere CS4. The videos give you an overview of the Premiere workspace, as well as video editing theory like aspect ratios, keyframes and codecs. You’ll also learn about using transitions to achieve effects, manipulating time, and how to create titles to display extra information for your videos.
In its final piece of news, MacProVideo said it will no longer sell DVD copies of its training videos, opting instead to offer only downloadable versions. The company considers the move as a way to help the environment.
N.E.D.i is available free from the App Store. The Premiere tutorial costs $39.50 and is available for immediate download.
