
A user by the name of
fsjk85 on the
whirlpool.net.au forums was toying with the nightshot mode on his video camera and discovered something interesting -- the iPhone 3G
has a QR code hidden in the upper left-hand side of of its rear shell.
A QR Code is a matrix code -- or "Quick Response" two-dimensional bar code -- that allows its contents to be decoded at high speed.
Wikipedia notes that although QR codes were initially conceived for tracking parts in vehicle manufacturing, they're "now used in a much broader context, including both commercial tracking applications and convenience-oriented applications aimed at mobile phone users (known as
mobile tagging.
Apple's implementation is not user-oriented, and is instead believed to be a means of storing information about an iPhone that would traditionally be placed on a sticker behind a mobile phone's battery cover, such as its IMEI number, serial number, and production date.