They could be good, but I think the user experience isn't quite there. I know on Android you have to download a barcode scanner app, which is easy enough, but until this starts being a standard feature, perhaps part of the camera application, or at the very least a pre-installed application, your average joe just won't get it.
I think they are a great tool, they will find their niche and be used sometimes, others not. Too often the media seems to think something new has to be either the next big, giant thing or they are a failure.
QR Codes are already common place in Japan. Every Japanese mobile comes with a QR code reader, and it is common to see them on print advertisements, coupons, and so on.
QR codes deserve mass usage (they can be in different sizes, store different data, etc etc...), but all they get is hype and some public appearances on billboards from time to time.
I like QR codes but taking pictures of anything is way to difficult on most phones. Power button, unlock, bar code app, loading, loading, loading, hold up to QR code, focus, focus, focus, detect, detect, detect, success! If there was a super quick way to scan them on phones, I'd be more optimistic about consumer adoption. IMO, the whole mobile phone camera workflow needs to be rethought.
QR codes or something like it will eventually be the way Dwolla and Paypal do mobile-to-mobile transactions. I've thought of a mock up of just using ONLY QR-like codes to transfer money between two people in the same room, it would be fast and easy and assuming you used your Dwolla pin as you confirmed the amount you were spending/charging, it would work perfectly.
It would help if android had a built-in app for that instead of having to go hunt for one you can trust.<p>Almost all devices in Japan come with i-nigma preloaded apparently, but not USA.<p>Also, WTF does every QR reader insist permission for access to your personal info, storage write and internet access. Why?
With Google resigning their QR code initiative and the break through developments in near field communication (NFC), mass adoption seems unlikely.<p>The QR graphics aren't aesthetically pleasing - proximity based devices are more likely to succeed.