Seen those funky little QR (quick response) bar codes floating around and wondering how to scan them on your iPhone or iPad? QR codes are used to store useful information like web URLs, contact cards, e-mail addresses, etc... While QR reading isn't built into iOS, there are, of course, apps for that.

1. First you'll need to get an app that reads QR codes. There are tons in the App Store. Some are free and some are paid. In this example, we are using a free app called [RL Classic](http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/click?id=xhX*vKggN*k&subid=&offerid=146261.1&type=10&tmpid=3909&RD_PARM1=http%3A%2F%2Fitunes.apple.com%2Fus%2Fapp%2Frl-classic%2Fid312720263%3Fmt%3D8) by Occipital. Others include [QR scanner](http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/click?id=xhX*vKggN*k&subid=&offerid=146261.1&type=10&tmpid=3909&RD_PARM1=http%3A%2F%2Fitunes.apple.com%2Fus%2Fapp%2Fqr-scanner%2Fid377643590%3Fmt%3D8) or [QR reader](http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/click?id=xhX*vKggN*k&subid=&offerid=146261.1&type=10&tmpid=3909&RD_PARM1=http%3A%2F%2Fitunes.apple.com%2Fus%2Fapp%2Fqr-reader-for-iphone%2Fid368494609%3Fmt%3D8) and tons to choose from will come up. Take your pick and download one.

2. Next you'll need to find a nifty code to scan and open the app. It should pull up something just like above where you can scan a code using your camera app. Apps like RL Classic don't require you to take a physical picture - simply center the QR code in between the bars and it should pick up on it.

3. Next you'll get some type of prompt showing you the information in the QR code. In this example it's a web URL. I can just tap to visit the URL or cancel and it will save it to my history.

That's it! You can now scan all those handy QR codes you see floating around in magazines, books, stores, and more.

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Every week a few of us from team TiPb, bloggers and forum crew alike, will bring you our current favorite, funnest, most useful App Store apps, WebApps, jailbreak apps, even the occasional accessory, web site, or desktop app if the mood strikes us. As long as they're iPhone (or iPod touch) related, they're fair game.

So who's on deck this week and what are our picks? Find out after the break!

Chad's Pick: Bento

This week I am picking the Bento app from FileMaker. There are several apps out there that can keep track of passwords and other data. What is nice about Bento is that you can make these databases yourself! You can edit fields, make lists and choose data types. If you own Bento for Mac, you can sync the data between apps! For $4.99, Bento is a great value for simple database creation. [$4.99 - iTunes link]

Chris' Pick: Bed Bugs

Bed Bugs is a fun, quick paced pseudo-shooting game (for some reason it reminds me of Space Invaders). In the game, you try to keep your sleeper asleep by shooting the various monsters that try to wake him up. Different monsters have different weaknesses (when you can "shoot" them, for example). Succeed and your sleeper gets a good night sleep. [$1.99 - iTunes link]

Jeremy's Pick: The North Face Snow Report

Snowboard/Ski season is fast approaching so my pick is the Snow Report. It's free and you get a slick user interface, detailed information on any resort you select, trail maps, built in Twitter support, etc... Nifty little app that anyone interested in skiing or snowboarding should pick up.[$Free - iTunes link]

Matt's Pick: RedLaser

RedLaser is created by Occipital, which has that nifty barcode scanning technology (used in foodscanner as well.) The application scans barcodes with ease and has recently come to my aid in purchasing books. After it scans, it pulls up results from Amazon, Google and other locations, letting you know where the cheapest place to purchase is. If you're one of those people that like to compare prices while at the store, this might just be the perfect app for you! [$1.99 - iTunes link]

Rene's Pick: Canabalt

Canabalt is a highly simplified, highly stylized -- indeed pixelized -- game where you race across rooftops, jump over obstacles, leap between buildings, crash through windows, avoid bombs and collapsing construction, and otherwise do everything you can just to keep running. If you hit something you slow down, if you don't, you speed up, and if you mistime a jump, you fall, crash or get vaporized and the game is over. How far can you run? [$1.99 - iTunes link]

Your Pick?

You're part of team TiPb too, so what's your pick? What app was your absolute fav last week? Let us -- and everyone -- know in the comments!

Every week a few of us from team TiPb, bloggers and forum crew alike, will bring you our current favorite, funnest, most useful App Store apps, WebApps, jailbreak apps, even the occasional accessory, web site, or desktop app if the mood strikes us. As long as they're iPhone (or iPod touch) related, they're fair game.

So who's on deck this week and what are our picks? Find out after the break!

Chad's Pick: Blades of Fury

If there is one game genre the iPhone is lacking in it has to be fighting games. Well, the wait is over folks, Blades of Fury is one awesome game. The best way to think of it is an amazing port of Soul Calibur; this game is really that good. The touch controls work surprisingly well and you can even play you own iPod music. What is it missing? Online multiplayer, but then again, so are many games If you like fighting games, especially using the weapons-based Soul Calibur fighting mechanic, you will love Blades of Fury! [$6.99 - iTunes link]

Chris' Pick: PwnageTool 3.1.3.

For people who have a iPhone 3Gs (like me), who has been waiting for jailbreak (like me), this is great news. While there is a PC version (yet? opinion seems to be varied as to their intent, or lack of intent, to release a new PC version of redsn0w), this is still a great step forward for those of us who have patiently been waiting for a jailbreak of 3.1. Jailbreakers can now start to experience some of the fun of the 3.1 update. [Free - Web link]

James' Pick: Newsstand

In my eternal search for the perfect Google Reader app, I find myself loving Newsstand. Reliable sync of all of my feeds and the storge of offline images make this my go to app! [$4.99 - iTunes link]

Matt's Pick: Mailbox Find

Mailbox Find is an app that tells you were the closest mailbox for either USPS (or post offices), FedEx or even UPS. With my most recent job, I was asked to drop a letter in the mailbox. Not knowing the area real well, I was able to open the app and it gave me some of the closest mail boxes in the area. It kept me from spending too much time hunting for a mailbox in the area (or driving across the city to go to the one I actually knew of. If you want to search a certain zip code for mailboxes, you can also do that. [$0.99 - iTunes link]

Rene's Pick: RedLaser

So I go to the book store with a friend, who sees many cute and wonderful and engaging books, and I see the full retail price quickly adding up in my brain like one of those old fashioned whirling cash registers. Luckily I had RedLaser's barcode scanner and product finder on my iPhone, so I whipped it out, scanned away, and proceeded to add the books up in Amazon for quite a bit less. My friend saw how much less the total was, dumped the books back on the shelves, and everyone was happy (except for the book store, no doubt). Bottom line, I've been waiting for this on the iPhone ever since I saw the Android G1 show it off almost a year ago. And it works great. [$1.99 - iTunes link]

Your Pick?

You're part of team TiPb too, so what's your pick? What app was your absolute fav last week? Let us -- and everyone -- know in the comments!

RedLaser [$1.99 - iTunes link ] scans barcodes, identifies the item your scanning, and then presents Google Product Search and Amazon shopping results for that item.

Sound familiar? It should, it was one of the few things we really lusted after when Google demoed the original Android G1 almost a year ago. Go into Barnes & Noble, see a book you like, snap the barcode, and instant price comparison. Boom. You can decide whether you need to buy it immediately or if you prefer to to order it and wait a little.

Both the iPhone 2G and 3G lacked the autofocus and short range macro clarity for that task, and while the iPhone 3GS made up for that in large degree, RedLaser is going the extra mile and enabling barcode scanning without using the autofocus. So, yes, it works fine on all generations of iPhone.

Doesn't sound like it was easy -- Apple rejected the application's use of the camera 6 times before iPhone 3.1 rolled around and they got the big, green light to start scanning. It will no doubt be appreciated by users.

The features break down as follows:

• Scans UPC, EAN, and UPC-E
• You can email a list of products
• Automatically localized for currency (USD, EUR, GBP) and regionalized Amazon stores (.com/.co.uk/.de/.co.jp/.fr/.ca/.cn)

In our tests, it worked well (though getting our hands to hold the iPhone steady enough was a challenge -- need to cut down coffee intake!). If you try it out, let us know what you think!