Last week I saw a headline that was begging to be clicked on TechCrunch, “Microsoft Launches Its First Android App. Yes, Google’s Platform.” Since I moved over to the Motorola Cliq last month, I have been in love with Android and I am always looking for cool new apps to try out. In fact, that is one of the reasons why I started this blog, I wanted to dig deeper into many apps offered on the Android Market and share the full story with you. Today, I want to introduce you to Microsoft Tag and discuss some of the pros and cons to Microsoft’s new barcode system.
Do we need another Barcode?
UPC BarcodeBarcodes are nothing new, everything that is sold in stores comes with a 1D barcode called a UPC, or Universal Product Code, that is used to enter a unique number into a computer. Each item in the store that has a UPC barcode is entered into a computer along with the unique number. When the cashier scans the barcode, the computer looks up the number and returns information about the product. This information can include things like the product name, price, sale price, etc. There really is no limit to what information can be looked up using barcodes but all that information is not stored in the barcode. That is why products sold in stores have a unique code administered by a standards body named GS1. Each product meant to be sold is registered with GS1 along with a company prefix, a unique item number and a mod-10 check digit. This ensures that no other product sold will automatically scan in as another completely different product. This also allows for there to be only one barcode regardless of where the product is being sold.
ISBN BarcodeThe UPC barcode is only one type of barcode currently used through the world. If you look on the back of books, the ISDN number is used to generate a different type of barcode. The ISBN number, International Standard Book Number, is registered with the book name and other information. When the barcode is scanned, the software recognizes the barcode as an ISDN barcode and then looks up the book. Not only is the ISBN barcode used by book retailers but it is also extremely helpful for buying books online with a barcode reader on your smart phone. For example, maybe a coworker has a book on his desk that you want to purchase. Rather than digging through amazon.com you can just scan the barcode with your phone and it will do a search for the book online. Then often times within a few clicks, you can purchase the book with no hassle. It also helps in comparing prices since many phone apps automatically check the top online retailers and returns the best price.
QR CodeMany barcodes you see are called 1D barcodes since they only display information in on direction. The UPC and ISBN barcodes are examples of this type. Another common barcode type is the 2D barcodes which contains two directions. A common 2D barcode type is the QR Code which is a matrix code. The QR refers to “Quick Response” which means that the contents are decoded at a high speed. These types of barcode were originally created in Japan to help in tracking parts for vehicle manufacturing but they are becoming more common in other areas. Especially with the available of barcode scanners on cell phones which can be used for mobile tagging. On cell phones, when a QR Code is scanned, a browser can take you to a URL or even start a file download.
Microsoft Tag!
Mircosoft Tag BarcodeUPC, ISBN and QR Codes are just a couple of examples of barcodes available for different purposes. On one program I have installed on my computer, there are 45 different barcodes available. That is a lot of barcodes and of course Microsoft wanted to add one more. In 2009, Microsoft released their beta version of Microsoft Tag on the iPhone. Microsoft Tag is used to read HCCB, High Capacity Color Barcodes, developed by Microsoft which uses colored triangles instead of the familiar black lines or squares. The advantage of using color triangles instead of black squares is that it allows for a higher density of information in a smaller area.
Since I am not an iPhone user, I was unaware of this system until I heard the announcement of the Android App last week. Curious, I installed the application on my Android Phone and created some Barcodes. My first impression was that I really liked these barcodes. For one, it was easier for my phone to read and interpret the barcode then standard 1D and 2D barcodes. Sometimes it may take a couple of minutes to get the barcode just right in the designated area in order to read the code. However when I read the HCCB barcode, I read the data in a couple of seconds without the need to move the phone closer or farther away from the code. It was just quick.
Another thing I like about Microsoft’s barcode is that the linked data is stored on their servers. This allows for one cool feature that is not available on any other barcode, the ability to download a vCard to your phone just by scanning a barcode. On Microsoft Tag website, http://www.microsoft.com/tag, You can enter in all of your contact information including websites, email, address, phone number, birthdays, and more. Then generate a barcode that you can add to anything. When someone scans the barcode using the Microsoft Tag app, the information is automatically downloaded and added to the phone’s contacts. Since Microsoft Tag is available on nearly all smart phones, you may see an explosion of barcodes on everything. Don’t be surprised if you begin to see barcodes on business cards, forms, information sheets and even on product packaging.
Although I really like the barcodes, I do have a problem. First, do we really need another barcode? I mentioned earlier that my system has 45 different barcodes. Does that mean that once other companies jump on the bandwagon, there will be hundreds of barcode standards? Then what is expected of the consumer? Are we all meant to keep a vast library of all available barcode readers just in case we run into a barcode we want to scan. I’d like to think that I am pretty up to date on most consumer level technologies but I never heard of Microsoft Tag before last week. What about the average consumer? How are they going to know that they need to download another reader. Microsoft does think about that. When you generate the barcode on the Tag website you can chose to include information where to download an app. By entering the web address http://gettag.moni, consumers can download the free barcode reader. But that can still be a hassle for some and I can’t say that I disagree.
Conclusion
After playing around with Microsoft Tag and comparing it with more well known systems, I have to say that I do like this system. Its quick, it allows for smaller barcodes and it just looks cool. But I will not be placing any barcodes on any of my business cards until one clear winner is proclaimed. Otherwise I will need to placing 200 different barcodes on my business card to allow for different readers to work. I am just too lazy…and cheap to do that. At a later date, I will go into detail on how to create barcodes, including Microsoft Tag, using some free barcode generators available online. In the meantime, let me know if you have used Microsoft Tag and what your impressions are about the barcodes themselves.