Data Matrix sighting in Tampere, Finland: Real Estate shopping
By Stefan Constantinescu on Monday, April 7th, 2008 at 2:55 PM PST In Random
On one of my daily trips to the super market I passed by the usual string of small buildings occupied by obscure little shops with names roughly 20 characters long, never gave them that much thought, until one day I noticed something a little out of the ordinary: QR codes!
They’ve escaped Japan and have come to Tampere of all places, a city in Finland known to be inhabited by young party going college kids, old blueberry pie baking grandmas and mustamakkara.
That should give you an idea of the real estate prices here.
65 square meter apartment (700 square feet) is 170k EUR (266k USD).
Update: “thigh bone” left a comment telling me these are not QR Codes, but instead something called a data matrix which is a 2 dimensional barcode. My mistake.
Hmmm…interestingly the unit has a dry sauna, balcony, two bedrooms, living room, a clean looking kitchen with white cabinets
…just scanned Stefan’s QR Code shot..you have to enter your name and a phone number and then you can see the listing LOL…
I was doubtful N95 would read a picture of a QR code (taken with another phone) but amazingly it did..
Give it a try.
That’s a good deal,
Here in Vancouver, something like that would go for at least $500,000 or 312,000EU
I thought property in Europe was more expensive than it is here… Jeez, too bad I can’t speak whatever they speak over there in Finland
Lucky Europeans,
Cheap property AND phones that actually have fully functional 3G! I bet more than half the people living here have no idea what that is
Erhemm. Somehow I suspect in Vancouver, the same job would earn you more.
stefan: your Finnish is getting better! And @zak: that is what we speak here.
Prices in Tampere are some (depending onthe location at least)30 % off of the prices of similar apartments in Helsinki.
This is off topic, but to correct little:
It’s an “auction item” with starting price 169k€. I’d guess if you want to buy that apartment you probably have to pay a couple tens more.
However it still sounds almost free. Here in Espoo it would be (almost) a bargain if you get one room with that price. 3 rooms + sauna starts from 250k€ even in the cheaper locations (talking about new apartments here).
Off topic nr. 2: Thanks Stefan for your personal touch in tech-blogging. Next time you’re visiting Espoo feel free to drop in
@Suden: Thanks, I’ll have to take you up on that one day.
@Henrikki: Trust me, my Finnish is not getting any better haha.
@Zak: What @Jen said is true, salaries here are not as high as they are in the states. With the collapse over the dollar that has happened over the past ~ 8 months that difference is not as large, but still in the double digits.
@suden: you are right, it’s an auction item! This is a new way to sell/buy apartments. This is the first time I hear about it (not that I have followed real estate that closely).
Real estate auctions are very popular in the UK. I have seen a couple of them in the US and personally I think it’s a better idea than the current system that’s being used in the US: Here you list at a higher almost unreal price and then wait for people’s best offer. Auction works better because you can list lower and have the price climb up so if the demand is higher – you may get more than you were expecting. I think I may be selling my house “auction style” when the time will come. And having an internet site is even better..and then when geeks go shopping..you better make that QR code ready
“That’s a good deal,
Here in Vancouver, something like that would go for at least $500,000 or 312,000EU
I thought property in Europe was more expensive than it is here… Jeez, too bad I can’t speak whatever they speak over there in Finland”
Thought if you go to capital area those prices sky rocket. I believe that Vancouver is one of the most expensive cities so no contest here =)
Helsinki was something like 31th on that list.
Oh btw Stefan planning to move in Helsinki/Espoo/vantaa area or is there some special reason to stay in Tampere other than prices?
Prices are nice here in Tampere, if my 3 month part time contract turns into something full time and more permanent then I might consider moving back to Helsinki.
that’s actually a data matrix code, not a QR code
you’re absolutely right! thanks for the correction.
People, could we drop the technical terms QR and Datamatrix and just talk about 2D codes or 2D barcodes? Nokia’s reader (and most other ones out there) read both standards anyway.