Today, Microsoft released beta version of Tag, which essentially is a mobile barcode product/service. Microsoft makes it easy for just about anyone – and that means you and me – to create a Tag. Concept is simple: Each Tag represents some kind of information (typically a Web link) revealed when photographed with a mobile phone’s camera.
I was amused to see early, negative commentaries about Tag. Over at Silicon Alley, title to Eric Krangel’s blog post refers to Microsoft Tag as “another useless iPhone app“. He writes: “We’re a bit sceptical on tagging: We’ve never seen a mobile tag, not sure if we’d be bothered to use one if we did, and think typing in a URL or web search is a pretty good way to find content on our mobile devices.”
Like many other bloggers and journalists writing about Tag, Eric got sucked into the iPhone vortex. Over at TechCrunch, Robin Wauters joined Eric, calling Tag Microsoft’s “second iPhone app”.
While it’s true that Tag is Microsoft’s second iPhone application, the software/service supports multiple mobile operating systems. I downloaded Tag for my Nokia N96, which runs Symbian S60. From the Tag Website, I entered my phone number and received a text message with download link. The application correctly identified the phone as N96 before installing.
Blogs and news stories focusing on the iPhone app say more about the writers than Microsoft. Are they all using iPhones? I do wonder.
Over at ReadWriteWeb, Frederic Lardinois gives an excellent description of how Tag works before offering this sceptical assessment: “We have seen too many similar projects fail to be too optimistic about this one.”
The pundits are all wrong, by the way. Tag is a smart software/service, whether or not it succeeds. I do believe Tag can succeed if Microsoft puts some marketing behind it, starting with tagging its own products, print advertisements and outdoor hoardings.
Sure, there are lots of barcode options out there, but traditional matrix ones are two dimensional. Microsoft Research developed what the company calls “High Capacity Colour Barcodes”. According to the Tag Website: “On many camera phones, you just have to aim the camera at the Tag—it is instantly recognised and you are whisked directly to the linked content.”
On my phone, I launched Tag, which activated the phone’s camera. I didn’t need to take a picture. As soon as I pointed at the Tag, the application recognised the barcode and, for this one, whisked me to download the application. Smooth.
What’s right about Tag:
My mind boggles at the uses:
Oh could I go on with ideas. Some advice to Microsoft:
Microsoft could and should put some marketing muscle behind Tags, which have the potential to become first a fad and from there the new standard for barcodes. The potential to succeed is great, but so is it to fail. So to you, Microsoft, I say: Tag, your it!
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