The winners of the 16 Days of Scanning Giveaway are:

• 11/23 – J. Ryan
• 11/24 – F. González
• 11/25 – P. Morrison
• 11/26 – C. Carmen
• 11/27 – P. Ivan
• 11/28 – S. Gades
• 11/29 – H. Lolo
• 11/30 – J. Cohen
• 12/1 – D. Flynn
• 12/2 – O. Charlene
• 12/3 – P. Mallet
• 12/4 – J. Barnhart
• 12/5 – A. Poirrier
• 12/6 – A. Roysea
• 12/7 – J. Christian

Keep scanning to be today’s winner!

Learn more here...

To kick off the holiday season and celebrate the release of ScanLife 4.0, we’re launching a special promotion that focuses on one thing: winning free gift cards.

It’s called the “16 Days of Scanning” and the rules are this simple:

1)    Scan a UPC code from ANY product

2)    Cross your fingers and hope you hit the winning scan!

Win $100 gift cards from Starbucks, H&M, Best Buy, and others.

Winners will be selected daily at random, so the more you scan, the better chance you have to win!

The giveaway starts tomorrow, November 23rd.

Happy Scanning!

Update [10.14.11]

We have had a number of conversations with HTC and Vodafone about this issue and we have a little more detail for those affected.  A version of the ScanLife app called Bidi is commonly preloaded in devices for Spain specifically.  However, the app was also shipped with some HTC/Vodafone devices but never “activated”, so you would have never seen the app on your device.  However, Google recently updated Android Market to automatically look for apps on the device and prompt the user to download the latest version.  In this case, the Bidi app was pre-set to auto-update and it goes to Market to get the version for your country which should be ScanLife.  This is why you were prompted to download an app that you have never seen before.

Because the original app is in the ROM (or permanent device memory), it cannot be deleted (similar to other preloaded apps that you may get when you buy a new phone).  We do not yet know if there is a long term resolution to this issue, but we will continue to work with HTC, Vodafone, and Google.  We will update you here when we have new information.  In the mean time, please feel free to try the ScanLife app to scan QR Codes and UPC codes on products to get valuable information on your device.

Thank you.

——————-

Over the past few days, a number of people from Europe and Latin America have reported receiving the ScanLife Barcode Reader application on their device (also known as BIDI in Spain). Our app is sometimes pre-loaded or built in by certain operators and some times an operator will push what is called a “virtual preload” which sends an app, or a bundle of apps, to your device through the network connection.

In this case, it appears the BIDI app which is meant for Spain (in Spanish) went to devices in other counties as part of a larger bundle. Vodafone seems to have configured the bundle in a way that makes it impossible for the user to delete the app.  Other apps like Twitter were also included.  So far, only Vodafone and only the HTC Desire [added HTC Wildfire] have been reported to be involved with this phenomenon in countries like Germany and Ireland.

The app on Android Market is NOT MALWARE. It is a perfectly safe app which is used by over 8 million people around the world to scan mobile barcode like QR Codes or UPC Codes from products.

We are working with Vodafone to understand the root of this issue, and provide some possible options for you to delete the app if you would like. However, in the mean time, please know this issue was outside of our control, so your negative reviews are unfairly hurting our credibility. We hope that you will try the app, and find it a useful tool to link you to relevant information and content from the physical world. You can see some ways it can be used from our YouTube page.

We will post new updates here as we have them.  Thanks for your support and understanding.

Here is a nice interview of Mike Wehrs, Scanbuy’s CEO, around ScanLife and the world of mobile barcodes.

Check out some new video with Mike Wehrs, CEO of Scanbuy, at this year’s CTIA Conference. It was a great show with lots of 2D codes, including usage by leaders like Motorola and RCR Wireless.

With barcode scanning becoming more and more popular every day, and we were starting to hear from a growing number of non-Smartphone users who wanted in on the fun.  While we have apps that work on Java & even BREW devices, we just launched a new service that increases our reach in the US by 35% in a single day!

“Scan & Send” basically allows someone to take a normal picture of a 2D or 1D barcode, send it to us by MMS or email, we will decode it from our server and send back the correct content.  Here’s the real kicker – this works on industry standard barcodes like QR Codes, Datamatrix, EZcode, and even UPC codes with an auto-focus camera.  So, if you’re one of the 20 million people in the US that already have a standard code reader on your phone, you can just launch the app (hopefully ScanLife) to get the content is seconds.  If not, use Scan & Send!

MMS works in the US by sending the picture to 43588, and it’s available to AT&T, Verizon and Sprint – the top 3 carriers, and hopefully we will have the fourth very soon.

Not in the US?  Just send the picture to scan@scanlife.com, and we’ll send a link back by email instead.

So, you want to use standard QR Codes, but also want to reach three times more people than just Smartphones?  Here’s your answer!

Thanks to all of our friends for making 2010 a fantastic year, and we can’t wait for 2011!

Just in time for the holidays, we are excited to announce our first ScanLife daily prize giveaway. Starting for 7 days today, ScanLife users will be qualified to win great prizes ranging from an Apple TV to an Amazon Kindle.

To be eligible, all you need to do is follow a few simple steps.

1. Using your ScanLife app on Android, BlackBerry, or iPhone, scan any UPC barcode on a product of your choice.
2. Once your content loads, click on the Daily Holiday Giveaway banner (shown above)
3. Now, all that’s left is to select the “Twitter” button to follow us or “Facebook” button to post on your wall.
4. Congrats – you’re entered!

Winners will be selected daily at random and notified via a Twitter/Facebook message.

Get out there and get scanning!

Don’t have the app?  Go to getscanlife.com from your mobile browser!

You think you have a loyal group of friends?  You think you’re full of great ideas?  Well, you’ll find out soon enough in the ScanLife Social Network Contest!

Last time we asked you to upload your most creative ways to use 2D codes.  This time, it’s all about getting lots and lots of scans.

Here’s how it will work:

1. Create a ScanLife 2D code (QR, Datamatrix, EZcode) from a ScanLife Personal account.  It’s free to create an account if you don’t have one already and you can change the code content whenever you want without changing the image.   The code must be created from ScanLife.
2. Link your code to whatever you want. Pick something that all of your friends are going to want to scan – a video, some fun pics, a great joke.  Be creative, but keep it clean!!
3. Publish your code wide and far – Facebook, Twitter, airplane banners – whatever you think is going to get your code scanned.
4. The person with the most unique scans at the end of the contest wins!

What will you win?  With the holidays coming up, we figured we would give you $500 in the form of an Amex Gift Card.  Spend it any way you want!

Get started now by creating your code, and let’s see how many people scan your code…

Good Luck!!

Tips & Help:

• Don’t know what we’re talking about, or how to create one of these codes?  Click here to watch a video.
• Don’t forget to tell your friends how to scan one of these codes!  They can download the ScanLife app for hundreds of different phones at getscanlife.com from the phone, or their app store.  Or they can use a different QR Code scanner.
• Make sure the code is large enough to scan.  1″ wide is recommended.

Rules & Regulations:

• The contest will begin on Monday October 11th, 2010 and last until Monday November 1st, 2010.  Any scans prior to that date will not be counted.
• The winner will be selected by tallying the most unique scans from a specific account holder.  A unique scan is determined by an anonymous application or user ID.
• You can create multiple codes, but only one will be counted from each user.

• Contestants must create the code through a ScanLife platform to be entered.
• Codes which link to inappropriate material will be immediately disqualified, and the top 3 codes will be checked by ScanLife on a weekly basis.
• ScanLife will announce the contest winner on 11/1/10, by 5pm EST by Facebook & Twitter.
• You will have 48 hours to respond to our message on Facebook and if you do not reply in time we will have to move on to our runner up.

• The contest winner will receive a American Express gift card (a $500 value)
• This competition is open to anyone in the world who is over the age of 18.
• Any idea you express during this contest will be available to the public domain.

And Win an iPad!

Here at ScanLife, we’ve seen people use 2D codes in some pretty wild ways – from crackers to crop circles…

But, this is all just the tip of the iceberg, and we know you can come up with some ideas that take it to the next level!

So, we are giving away a new iPad to the person that sends us a photo of the most brilliant, fresh, and crazy place for a 2D code.

Here’s how it works:

1. Create your 2D code – you can create one for free from www.scanlife.com
2. Link it to whatever you want – your Facebook page, Twitter feed, blog – working codes get you bonus points!
3. Place your code where ever you think it needs to be! (Photo-shopped images will be accepted)
4. Take a picture of the code and upload it to our Facebook wall – www.facebook.com/scanlife .   Please try to leave a short explanation in the caption.  You will need to “Like” ScanLife to add a photo, but hopefully you’re fond of us already.

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