Bar-Code Venture

Motorola Inc. and bar-code company Symbol Technologies Inc. said they’re joining two other companies in a venture to make buying products and getting information on the Internet as easy as a scan and a click. Connect Things, an affiliate of Motorola rival Ericsson of Stockholm, and AirClic Inc., a scanning technology company, plan to invest $500 million in the still-unnamed company. The venture is aimed at allowing customers to scan codes on products and ads, in print or on TV, for direct access to a specific Web site to buy products or get more product information. The first bar-code scanner will be available by the end of the year. Scanning will be possible from mobile phones, hand-held personal assistants and other devices 12 to 18 months from now.