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Are Mobile Barcodes Toast As Google Kills Print Ads? (GOOG)

mobile-barcode.jpgGoogle (GOOG) is finally killing its newspaper ad program that no one wanted. Is it also killing the mobile barcode?

If you recall, so-called "2-D" or "QR" barcodes were a big part of Google's newspaper ad push: You could take a picture of the ad's barcode with your camera phone, and it points your phone's browser to a Web site, map, coupon, etc. (And gives advertisers something they can track.)

Sounds good in theory -- big in Japan! -- but hasn't taken off here. (Remember the similarly useless CueCat?)

And while Google isn't the only company pushing mobile barcodes here -- Microsoft (MSFT) has joined with a useless iPhone app -- it was probably the most important, especially for formal QR-style codes.

So unless we're missing something huge, it seems mobile barcodes are losing their biggest U.S. backer.

See Also:
Google's Newspaper Ads: Big Hopes For Small Barcodes
Another Useless iPhone App From Microsoft: 'Tag'

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On February 28, Axel Springer, Business Insider's parent company, joined 31 other media groups and filed a $2.3 billion suit against Google in Dutch court, alleging losses suffered due to the company's advertising practices.

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