Redmond, Washington — There is no love lost between Microsoft, the company behind the Windows Mobile OS, and Google, which has not stopped the Windows-maker from creating an Android-based version of its Tag application, which uses the phone’s camera to allow users to read hidden information in barcodes.
Microsoft’s “Tag,” the free application that works with Google’s Android phone uses a handset’s camera to change it into a mobile barcode reader.
Microsoft Tag allows merchants to add a mobile barcode to promotional materials. Users with the Tag app then use their cell phone cameras to scan that barcode and gain access to additional information, including videos, Web sites, reviews, schedules, contact information, social networks, discounts, and more.
It is the first application Microsoft has made for the Android operating system – one of the key rivals to Windows Mobile. Android is among the last to get the Tag application which is available on Windows phones, the iPhone, Blackberry and Symbian handsets.
The Tag Reader can now be acquired for free in the Android Market and it scan Tag barcodes and display information about it on the handset. The Tag codes are similar to QRcodes and it is expected to be found in magazines, brochures, ads and other public locations.
Tag is already available on Windows Mobile, J2ME, iPhone, BlackBerry, and Symbian S60 phones. It is now available via the Android Market.
“It is important to give more people access to Tag because there is a huge requirement for reliable mobile barcoding — businesses and consumers are eager to find creative ways to use their phone and hyperlink the real world,” Microsoft’s Benjamin Gauthey wrote in a blog post.
In the next few months, Microsoft will also be revamping its Tag Web site to include more ways to learn about and experience Tag, Gauthey said.
Nevertheless, it is a modest but positive move for Microsoft’s mobile plans, which is definitely on the uptick because of Windows Phone 7 Series. Unfortunately, WP7S would not be coming until the end of the year and that is a lot of time for Android, BlackBerry and iPhone to capture market share. Microsoft has also essentially killed any incentive to buy its phones until WP7S because Windows Mobile handsets won’t be able to upgrade.