It's easy with the camera - instant information about BMW by mobile phone

Munich. An advertising poster on a tower block wall shows a holiday
scene - a driver in the city jungle pulls his mobile phone out of his
pocket, points his camera at a black and white square next to the
holiday apartment and obtains all the information about it directly -
living area, price, or even a video providing an interactive tour.
Anyone who would like to make a viewing appointment straight away can
find the contact of the nearest estate agent by mobile too. It may
sound like pie in the sky, but it is already reality in Japan. Whether
it is on advertising posters, in magazines or in fast-food restaurants
- additional interactive information, on prices and nutritional values,
for example, can be accessed by mobile phone anywhere. All you need is
a mobile phone with a camera and the necessary software to scan what are
called Semacodes - a two-dimensional barcode made up of black and white
squares. In Europe, BMW is now starting to use this innovative barcode
technology - and is the first motor manufacturer to offer its customers
the chance to download interactive product information to their mobile
phones quickly and easily. As part of the marketing activities for the
new BMW 1 Series, Semacodes are being used, for example, on the current
German sales literature. Each of these barcodes contains the address of
a web site that provides the customer with specific, interactive
supplementary information. The customer accesses the information by
installing reader software on his mobile telephone which then enables
him to photograph the black and white URL barcode with his telephone
camera. The URL in the barcode is taken over automatically into the
mobile phone browser, which then connects the user via GPRS/UMTS to a
BMW web site specially designed for use by mobile phones. Customers
will find not only product information here, but also ring tones, wall
papers and video streams. Download Semacode software free The Semacode
software needed to read the barcodes is available for downloading at
www.bmw.com/semacode_en, provided the mobile phone is compatible. This
is easy to find out, since the website also contains a comprehensive
illustrated list of all the telephones that support this software. The
software can be installed free of charge, and the only costs are thus
the standard fees charged by the network operators for downloading data
(GPRS/UMTS). In addition to the BMW 1 Series sales literature, Semacodes
are also planned in the BMW Magazine and at events. In the future, BMW
will also be using this technology for marketing purposes in Italy and
the UK. A photo in print quality can be found in the BMW Group
PressClub under www.press.bmwgroup.com using the photo-number P0037163.
If you have any queries, please contact: Corporate Communications
Markus Sagemann, Business and Finance Communication, Marketing, IT
Telephone: + 49 89 382-68796, fax: + 49 89 382-24418 Marc Hassinger,
Business and Finance Communication Telephone: + 49 89 382-23362, fax: +
49 89 382-24418 Internet: www.press.bmwgroup.com e-mail: presse@bmw.de