Category: Featured News

QR code plush toys add a whole new level to a snuggly

| March 2, 2013

Stuffed animals with barcodes can bring an entirely different experience to children.

A new line of plush toys has just been released with a QR code printed on their tummies, and are about to hit the market shelves in the hopes of attracting consumers with smartphones.

These stuffed animals are designed for both boys and girls and are meant for ages 5 and older.

They have been called “Scanimalz” and are created to combine three different things that children love, in order to attempt to provide the ideal toy. These three features are: snuggly toys, playing games on devices such as smartphones, and collecting. The manufacturers feel that this is a truly winning combination. It aligns with the current trends of bringing mobile devices and toys together, as is the case in the increasing number of augmented reality toy experiences.

Using the QR code toys is very easy through a free app that can be downloaded onto a mobile device.

The Scanimalz app can be downloaded into a smartphone or tablet, where an account can be created to register the toys. The QR code on the belly of each toy that has been collected can then be scanned to add to the digital collection and make it quick and easy to play games. There are a number of different games that can be played, to help to keep the experience new and interesting.

The games through the Scanimalz app allows the user to collect points as well as to win prizes. A player’s odds for winning increase with each additional animal QR code that is added to the collection. Parents should likely be cautioned that there are more than thirty different animal toys, so there may be some challenges ahead in terms of a child’s desire to continue collecting.

After the account has been created, it takes only a QR code scan in order to automatically launch the games. An added feature allows the user to post scores online and compete for top ranking with the points that have been collected. Animal options include pandas, dogs, pigs, bears, penguins and many others. The app is available for both iOS and Android devices.

Mobile payments startup launched by co-founder of PayPal

| March 1, 2013

mobile payments AffirmThe business will be a rival, and was just opened under the name Affirm.

Co-founder of PayPal, Max Levchin, has just announced the launch of a business that will be a direct rival to the mobile payments segment of the company, which will be called Affirm.

This new company will add itself to the rapidly growing and highly competitive smartphone based marketplace.

The technology that is being offered through Affirm is meant to assist shoppers in completing mobile payments more quickly and easily when making purchases online by way of their devices such as smartphones and tablets, says the official website of the company. At the moment, eBay’s PayPal is the online payment leader, but it is facing growing competition from startups that are making their way into the mcommerce space.

Affirm is concentrating on streamlining mobile payments for a far faster checkout process.

The goal of the company is to help to decrease the amount of information that needs to be typed in when making a purchase over a small device such as a smartphone. Entering credit card numbers, shipping addresses, and other data can be time consuming and frustrating when using a very small screen or a touchscreen typing pad.

Affirm has claimed to have reduced the process of making a purchase online so that it involves two simply taps on the screen of a smartphone. The first is to actually choose Affirm on the website of the participating merchant, and the second is to actually confirm the order itself. At the moment, the identity of the user is confirmed through Facebook. Therefore, there will be a third step that must be taken for first time users, which involves having to log in to their Facebook accounts and then giving permission to use the Affirm app.

Levchin was one of PayPal’s two cofounders (Peter Thiel being the other), and held the position of Chief Technology Officer for four years. After that point, the online and mobile payments company was acquired by eBay. It was Levchin who created and constructed the unique and state of the art fraud prevention and online security systems for PayPal.