Tag: Microsoft's first Android app is it

Everybody loves a world's first. So we might as well mention that Microsoft just released its very first application written for Google's competitive Android smartphone platform: Microsoft Tag Reader. Tag, as you might recall, is Microsoft's pseudo QR code implementation that uses high capacity color "barcodes" to link back to content. Download the app from the Android Market, scan a Tag with any camera enabled Android phone, and the linked data will automatically load on your device, be it a web page, video, advertisement, coupon, etc. Of course, readers without tags are as useless as tags without a wide swath of people with devices to read them -- so really, Microsoft has no choice but develop its Tag apps (already available for WinMo, Symbian, Blackberry, and iPhone handsets) for as many platforms as possible. First!

[recharged95 Posted Mar 4th 2010 9:56AM]

I can see this effort (and other MSFT Android projects) gathering user experience for:

a. VS.NET (WP7 likely to have a heavy C# API, which is much like Android's JVM/Java-ish development)
b. Getting domain experience in selling apps via the appstore model. Hence a iPhone app maybe on its way.
c. Seeing how well WP7 code ports to Android--which would be a killer model against the Apple appstore.
d. Showing that the 1 vendor ecosystem is *not* the solution.

[Emiliano Posted Mar 4th 2010 10:04AM]

It seems that it’s important to distinguish between Microsoft Tag and HCCB (High Capacity Color Barcodes). HCCB is the specification used by Microsoft Tag to encode an identifier, which is then used to query Microsoft for the real content. It has been licensed by the ISAN International Agency for use in its International Standard Audiovisual Number standard.

[Himcor Posted Mar 4th 2010 10:05AM]

Microsoft software on Android market?!
This could only result in Apple suing them both.

[windzilla Posted Mar 4th 2010 10:08AM]

Second!

[Beatnik Posted Mar 4th 2010 10:08AM]

Is not interesting: Apple establishing LAWSUIT at HTC (Android manufacturer and almost at the same time Microsoft releasing their FIRST APP for Android?

[MatteoVega Posted Mar 4th 2010 3:33PM]

@Beatnik Conspiracy!!!

[Himcor Posted Mar 5th 2010 4:44AM]

@Beatnik

HTC (Android manufacturer) ?
afaik google made android..

[Dr Blight Posted Mar 4th 2010 10:10AM]

The one place I've seen these tags was in the marketing for Halo Wars.

I think the back of the game box has a tag too.

[derspiess Posted Mar 4th 2010 10:38AM]

Cool. If MS is taking requests, a Zune app would be nice.

[Quikboy Posted Mar 4th 2010 9:09PM]

@derspiess : Um, wouldn't the current Zunes need a camera first? That's how the software is able to link to a webpage through a certain tag image.

[eviltwin Posted Mar 4th 2010 11:30AM]

"If you build it, they will come."

(^__~ )

[MatteoVega Posted Mar 4th 2010 3:32PM]

How about someone develops a new kind of QR Code which has the content (video, picture etc.) encoded in it. So you don't need to connect to the internet to view it. That would make tags more effective and these apps really interesting...

[deancollins Posted May 1st 2010 12:42PM]

@MatteoVega you can already do a video request call with QR codes, just send it to the url where the video file loads to the handset.

check out http://www.cognation.net/QR for other QR code uses.

[epompeii Posted Mar 4th 2010 5:08PM]

google goggles?