The Best iPhone QR Reader – Review
More and more QR codes are emerging in the United States as a way to linking information from the digital world to objects you can put your hands on like a book for example. Nowadays we virtually see them everywhere like in our favorite comics book, newspapers, posters, fountain drink cups, you name it. For those of you who fell behind with this kind of tech, a QR code is a variable pattern composed of white and black dots printed on a product. This pattern can be?deciphered using your iPhone camera and a piece of software. After the QR app does it’s word the code instantly turns into a picture, a contact number, a link and so on.
You would think that the iPhone comes with its built-in QR code reader, right? I am afraid this is not the case and up next we will have to present you the best QR reader apps for your iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad. We’ve reviewed a bunch of them but only five made it to our final list. Did I mention they are all free of charge? Enjoy!
1.Qr Reader for iPhone
The best QR reader award goes to the app with a similar name – QR Reader for iPhone. The guys behind this app did everything as it should be done. QR Reader for iPhone has the lowest response time from all the other apps we tested, it has a clean and easy to use interface, and packs a lot of sharing and usability options. After reading a QR code, the app will prompt you with a detailed view tab which makes you able to launch another applications. The text and Links don’t need another app and they open within QR Reader for iPhone. The app also includes a build-in browser that removes Safari from the need list. The only down side is the ads that you will see while browsing but considering the app is free, this aspect should not bother you very much. The sharing option include (among others) email, Twitter and Facebook. A nice feature allows you to post to Facebook or Tweet without leaving the app, so once you started using this beautiful QR reader you won’t need anything else. Personally, I have been using QR Reader for iPhone for 2 years now, and haven’t considered installing anything else since then.
2. QR Scanner
2nd place is occupied by a very nice built app named QR Scanner. It is very fast. That fast that you won’t have to tilt you iPhone in countless directions to align the code with the camera image on the screen. It is very customizable and allows you to? modify the app which launch after you scan a QR code. It also has a Recent Scan tab where you can select an item then open it with the adequate application or just copy it on your clipboard.? Overall QR Scanner is a wonderful piece of software except its rather boring and not so easy to navigate interface.
3. TapReader
The best part about TapReader is that you have the option to scan multiple codes without going to the archive and switch between scans. Although it’s not so easy to find this feature proves very useful as there may be times when you’ll need to scan multiple QR codes during different events like trade shows. A fast scan process while meeting many people will make you life much easier believe me. Options like turning the sound off or vibrations are also available, so as options to choose which apps to be launched automatically. This is very handy when you decide for instance no to open URLs automatically or you would like that phone numbers to be dialed without the app asking for permission.
What we didn’t like at this QR reader app is the need to insert an email address for activating it. The developers say the email is used for saving your scanned QR codes but the app also features its own archive making the feature useless.
4. i-nigma 4
Inigma 4 is a QR reader app that also saves all your QR scanned codes but lacks some key sharing features. You can share your QR via Twitter or Facebook but you’ll have to leave the app to do so making the process quite time-consuming. You must first exit the app then open the i-ngma website in Safari log in then share.? The customization options are also lacking . You can only change the camera sound when scanning a QR code, chose to automatically save QR code in your archive or not and setup the links to open automatically.? Not the worst app we’ve tested but we’ve seen better.
5. QR App
The final app that made it in our top 5 best iPhone QR readers list is QR App. The user interface is not a friendly one and can sometimes get a little bit confusing. The app will automatically capture a QR code when it will find it in the camera range. That in theory though. We sometimes found it difficult to make the app capture the QR code we showed it. Another down side is that the QR app launches Safari without asking for permission when a QR codes contains an URL. The feature may be useful for those who want to get instant access to the desired information but sometimes you feel like using it later on and this is where the app gets annoying.
The choice is up to you now. Since you’ll never need more than one QR reader app we recommend you to make your pick wisely and have fun scanning!
