I emailed my wife a request to head over to our local staples to buy a HD on sale. I attached a jpg of a coupon I thought she would print out and use in the store, but she was out of the house so she walked into the store and showed the clerk my email on the iPhone instead. Nice guy, he found what I wanted from the email description, and they were off to the check-out counter. Here is the cool part: the clerk scanned the barcode from the iPhone screen, and the discount was given without fuss! He mentioned that most phone screens are not able to be barcode scanned with their devices. His experience was iPhone only. This is a 3GS iPhone, so I presume the 4G should be ok too.
I do this at restaurants all the time, makes junk email coupons not so bad. Most retailers/vendors just need the barcode or a set of numbers/letters somewhere on the coupon. It's pretty great.
Recently had the same problem at Sports Authority. Didn't have the coupon print out... but i didn't think to have my iPhone scanned. Doh!
It will work on any phone's screen where the resolution is high enough. My HTC Blue Angel from 2002 would work the same way (same resolution, same size, and touch screen). Of course with my T9193 now it puts iphones to shame with its glorious 4.3in screen.
The 4G does, but it is smaller. The HTC's is 122%+ bigger with 480x800 so 217ppi whereas the iphone 4g is 640x960 (320ppi). The iphone 3g is 320x480 (160ppi). The point is you can use any phone's screen because the substandard screen on a 3g iphone is more than capable of displaying barcodes. Even with the 320ppi, it is still way below a "retinal" screen. You would have to hold the phone at arms length or more for the retina to be fooled. Normal phone distance would require something in the 600 to 1000 pixel per inch range to actually be a retinal screen. Bigger screen with slightly less resolution beats smaller screen with slightly better resolution. Not to mention I can do infinitely more with my phone than any iOS, better, and faster.
Yeah it works with a number of smartphones... that's how we check in at the airport.. e-boarding passes.
Haha I didn't mean to fan the fanboi flames, just mentioning a factual spec. -sent on Deltron's iPhone
Nice! What happens if the scanner has trouble with the phone ? Honest folks, this thread was not meant to to be a segue to a platform war. You Android people are so sensitive I was a bit surprised that the clerk had success only with the iPhone, and it made me wonder what screen specs matter. Resolution obviously, but perhaps contrast too ? Or something else that the Staples' scanner cares about.
Android people, iOS people, and Windows Mobile people all have followers. Usually it is the first and last group that have something more substantial backing their opinions...
Passive (and generalized) digs at iPhone users aside, the fact remains that your claim at your phone being higher res us incorrect. Yes, this is where one likely inserts all the iPhones other faults (of which there are many) and continuing onto apple as a whole, at which point someone comes back with the weaknesses of the competing platforms and flaws of various hardware offerings, and how much all this means ultimately for the average user...and on and on endlessly as it has and does on a billion boring threads everywhere  about it (many of which start just like this one did). this isn't a pissing contest, your phone is cool, you can be proud,  don't worry.  But your assertion about res. was wrong....and comparing your phone to a previous gen product? How many of us would let it slide if a automaker currently bragged about their offering against a gen II prius, when that specific comparison falls flat against the current gen III
Resolution and size are very different. My phone currently has a larger physical size. The 4G has a smaller screen, high pixel density. I never said I had more resolution, Wth are you smoking? The OP has a 3G, not a 4G. Therefore the resolution on any smartphone will work fine as I have said. I will leave it as this while you reread what I posted as I still stand by it. I am sick and tired of sheep posting "cool things you can do with an iphone" when the rest of the civilized masses has been doing it for a decade already with better hardware to boot. </end> I will leave it as this since I have made my point a few times that
