According to Jaunted.com, select airports in Texas are “experimenting with checking in passengers via QR code, or those curious black-and-white nouveau barcodes.” [via Jaunted]

Edit: You can read about I-nigma Reader, a free QR Code reader for Windows Mobile, here.

Do you have a Twitter account? Would you like to be notified of new updates and get special news from ThisMobileLife.com more easily? Well now you can! Follow This Mobile Life on Twitter and get updates on new blog posts and even get special news that will only be posted on Twitter.

Twitter really wasn’t my thing when it came out, I didn’t understand what the big deal was about telling everyone what you were doing. I think it’s a misconception now, though, as I read/hear people talking about how they don’t think it would be fun for them (or others) to tweet about what they are eating or where they are currently spending their time (especially if it involves a porcelain throne). I also think it’s a matter of how many friends you have and how active they are, but it also depends on HOW you tweet. I was bored with sending in tweets by text message and I wasn’t able to get every person on my follow list on my phone so I went in search of a Twitter client for my phone.

I downloaded a few different clients and finally came upon PockeTwit on the Twitter Fan Wiki, which is quickly becoming my favorite client. Out of the handful of clients that I tried (almost all of the clients that were for Windows Mobile) PockeTwit was the only one that actually ran and performed as I expected it to. The application is quick and updates even when it is “minimized,” which is what the developers called it when you close the program but don’t quit it.

The only drawback to running PockeTwit, as with any app that is constantly checking for updates on a server, is that the battery drains quite fast. Normally I can go all day on a charge (that’s a full 12+ hour day) but with PockeTwit running I’ve had to charge it after 8-9 hours, it’s not a huge thing seeing that I am normally driving home from work around then, but it is much different than I’m used to and could become a nuisance.

PockeTwit is freeware provided under the MIT License.

One of the most popular posts on this blog is the one about I-nigma and it really goes to show that people think that 2D barcodes are the next big thing. Apparently Microsoft thinks the same thing because they just released their own 2D barcodes and reader — Microsoft Tag.

Instead of the usual black blocks to make up the barcodes, Microsoft used multicolored triangles, making the barcode smaller in comparison to other 2D codes.This allows Tags to be used in a wider variety of places, unlike it’s brother the QR code. These Tags can be used to quickly link a user to a web address, send a vCard, send text, or even place a call, all with your phone’s camera. The applications are endless!

Microsoft wasn’t stingy with their product, either, once you download and install Tag (you can only install by visiting http://gettag.mobi on your phone at the moment) by visiting gettag.mobi on your phone or by sending the link in an SMS, you can create your own Tags for your print or online projects.

Microsoft Tag is freeware from Microsoft, creating Tags is also free. Here’s one I made, just open TagReader on your phone and point your camera at it, and then let the Tag do all the work!

I was just curious today what Google says is the most popular mobile OS so I did a search on Google Trends. As you can see below, the iPhone’s popularity has risen at an amazing rate since the iPhone’s price dropped, while Palm’s popularity has dropped steadily each year. Of course, both Android and Windows Mobile’s popularity has been increasing very slowly, but Windows Mobile seems to be leveling off.

So you want to impress your friends with your Windows Mobile phone and the Android phone just keeps showing you up every time you are out. Well not today, friend, today you have something up your sleeve that rivals even the best of Android’s apps. Today you can show off your mad skills and show your buddy an x-ray of his hand. And Portable X-Ray makes it possible.

It’s not a real X-Ray app, that should be the first thing I say in this review, actually. It’s just a video that plays of an x-ray of a hand and you tell your phone when to pause the video and continue playing it. Here’s the video of it from Youtube.com

As you can see, the x-rayer moves the phone over the x-rayee’s hand and presses the camera button to start and stop the movement on the screen. Play the video again now and watch his fingers. See him press the button? That’s the key. Well, that and knowing the direction the video will scroll next. Download the app and  make sure to install eVB included in the RAR file (a plugin from Microsoft that you will need to actually run the app). Then practice, practice, practice!

I showed this to my wife last night and she was floored, she actually thought it was x-raying my arm! It is really that life-like and people will think you are really doing it when you trick them. Just remember, a good illusionist never tells the secret to his trick.

Protable X-Ray is freeware and made for educational purposes only.

Apparently I need to start off my contests a little slower, after a thin turn-out for the SyncMate contest I have decided to make it a little easier. So, in the spirit of the New Year I am going to give out the 3 SyncMate licenses just for posting a comment. I will randomly choose the winners.

Last day to comment and win is January 14, 2009.

From everyone at This Mobile Life, we wish you a happy and mobile new year!