Cue-cat required the user to use a special device (the Cue-Cat scanner) connected to a computer. QR codes can be read by any smart phone equipped with a camera and the appropriate app. An app can be downloaded free if the phone isn't already equipped.
QR Codes aren't exactly new, although they're only recently starting to appear in pop culture. They are used in newspaper ads, product labels, signs, and websites. Examples:
- The City of Manor, Texas uses them to identify city-owned properties.
- U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service uses them along "iNature" trails in place of printed trail guides.
- New York City outfitted Times Square with giant QR codes to celebrate Internet Week 2010.
- I use them on two of the websites that I run:
Neal McLain