In the UK we’re still waiting for our 4G. If the network operator data caps are anything to go by, 3G is creaking under the strain. However, in spite of early promises for the Olympics, it looks like the UK roll-out for 4G will take a while. Ofcom, the regulator won’t decide on how the spectrum will be sold until summer 2012. Then there’s the auctions. Then there’s the roll-out itself. When will we actually see 4G in the UK? 2014 would be my guess. In the meantime, the best solution seems to be O2′s one, which is to install WiFi hotspots for their smartphone users.

I’ll make an FOI request to find out how many people scanned the code. If you want to know how to do QR without getting your users arrested, then see my guide to the perfect QR campaign here.

Using QR, mobile web and a few other bits of buzzy current mobile tech, Scandinavian Airlines have created a well executed campaign on the 2 for 1 concept. The UX seems a little complicated and the video just makes me want to shout ‘get a room’ …

Another Example of Creative Use of  a QR Code

Here’s the problem. How do ad agencies find good digital creatives these days? German agency Sholtz and Friends decided that pizzas could provide the answer. Working with a pizza deliver company, Croque Master, they came up with the ‘Pizza Digitale’. Whenever someone from a rival agency ordered from the company, they were sent a complimentary pizza with a QR code imprinted in tomato sauce. Scanning the code took the user to Sholtz and Friend’s hiring page. Did it work? Well they got 12 applications out of it and hired two staff. When you consider how much it costs to go via a recruitment agency, that was a good result. It’s certainly not the first time someone has used food to create a QR code, but the company still got a nice bit of PR for the agency.

Of course with QR it’s all about getting the context, engagement and targeting right. Click here to find out how to deliver the perfect QR campaign.

Looking for more creative QR campaigns? This great campaign puts QR on cardboard to raise awareness and money for the homeless. You can find even more campaigns here on Mashable , or some creative QR examples here on Mobile Inc.

Tesco’s problem is that consumers now have the tools to fight the supermarkets dominance. They can no longer have it all their own way. We have a situation where consumers are generally both cash and time poor. Necessity is driving us to find the best bargains. They are found online, but increasingly, they are being found on smartphones whilst shoppers are in the supermarkets. Some shops are beginning to get it. ‘Click to collect’, for example, represented 10.4% of all orders at the end of 2011. Whilst a majority of online orders are home deliveries, not everyone wants that. Click to collect offers an immediate solution without the hassle of queuing in the store. Other attractions such as free WiFi to help shoppers find the best deals and more engaging interactions such as virtual mirrors are also supporting the in-store mobile experience. John Lewis has made a point of going for mobile sales, and encourage customers to make price comparisons on their smartphones.

In the end, we will see more diverse shopping behaviours, driven largely by smartphones. Hopefully the biggest benefit will be the end of that dreaded phrase, ‘unexpected item in the bagging area’.

The US space agency has been open data for quite a while. Their data and images on The World’s highest mountains allowed EA Games to create snowboard runs on Everest. However, they have now taken their open data even further by providing a portal at code.nasa.gov. It lists open sourced projects and contacts for each. They intend to extend this soon with for tracking, hosting and planning for software they have created.

I previously blogged about how open data could be the solution for creating branded apps. This is another great example of how it could (should) be done.

So why not set up something similar for SMS? The problem is that SMS is different to voice. Where as a telemarketer can phone you without prior permission, text messages are classed as ‘electronic mail’ and require the user to opt-in before a message can be sent. So for a marketer to send you a text, you must have given your permission directly or indirectly through a soft-opt in (through a sale or negotiation of a sale). Not only that, the marketer must also offer a method of opting-out of further messages. It’s therefore pointless for marketers to scan against a preference list, as users will already have opted in.

A preference service won’t stop the spammers either. In the UK a majority of unsolicited messages are for accident claims, debt management or mis-sold loads or personal insurance. The people sending the texts know they are breaking the law, so they use a variety of methods to avoid discovering. One thing is certain though. They are not going to scan their lists against a preference service.

In the end the only way to prevent SMS spam is a combination of better enforcement against those who are breaking the law – so far the regulators haven’t prosecuted anyone – there is much more they can do. Stopping spam also needs to be supported by better filtering at the operator level. This will stop many more messages from reaching handsets in the first place. One way to support this is through a spam reporting button (or address book entry) on every mobile handset. Even though it may be well intended, a mobile preference service is not going to solve the problem. In the end it may simply mislead consumers into believing that registering with it can somehow prevent spam messaging. It won’t.