Companies hope the scanners, along with several competing technologies, will make it easier than ever for consumers to buy stuff, online and off. Whip out a scanner and zap the item's bar code, then let your Internet-connected computer handle everything from price comparisons to the scheduling of pickup or delivery. Publications including the Dallas Morning News, Forbes, Wired and Parade magazine have begun printing CueCat bar codes that link to online content. The concept is not limited to printed matter. Related technologies detect special signals in television broadcasts that can be stored on a handheld device for later reference.
Nobody knows for sure.
Mass. O'Brien and others said there is no answer so far. In fact, the best uses for pocket scanners may not have been realized yet. Mass. Yet hundreds of millions of dollars are being pledged to the experiments. Eventually, AirClic expects its technology to be built into cell phones and pocket computers. The initial devices will store up to 300 bar codes that can be sorted by product category.