Today, we are more inclined to accept technology than say 30 years ago.
If you followed the growth of the personal computer, you would see several clear stages of acceptance and utilization along the way. At first, it was something you might call a toy, something for hobbyists. It was really only something the fringe might have. Then, when business began to find it useful, it became something people bought in hopes of getting a better job. Soon, when we realized it was here to stay, it became important to introduce our kids to computers, so they too would gain advantage. Finally, with internet connectivity and seemingly never ending capabilities, even the most ardent of dissenters gave in. Resistance really was futile.
The point is, once the utility of the PC reached a point where it provided something for everyone, it become ubiquitous and now is something few of us would choose to live without. Mobile phones reached that point even sooner but the move to mobile devices or smart phones is still waiting for utility to catch up. TAGs are about to change the level of utility significantly.
..of the utility provided by a TAG is to turn a long URL (website address) into this:
"http://www.microsoft.com/tag/content/overview/customtagguidelines.aspx#Guidelines"
The utility comes from the fact that you don't have to type it. Therefore, TAG simplifies the process and eliminates potential transcription errors, especially for those of us with fat fingers on tiny keyboards. All of this means a better experience for anyone you want to get your message to.
The next aspect of utility comes from what happens in the application itself. Once you capture a code what can you do with it? In the case of a URL, you can choose to immediately go to the website or save the address to your favorites. Right now TAG will let you dial captured phone number and save a vCard to your contacts list. In each case the most obvious choice was automatically invoked, making it easy to use and adding more utility.
Now to be honest, with a 7-year head start you would expect that QR Code readers would provide even more options and certainly QuickMark's reader does just that. For instance, you can capture a URL and then pass it on as an SMS message, which is very useful as long as the receiver's device can use the text of the message to get to the website. There is the issue of cost but that is another matter. Therefore, TAG has some catching up to do. To be fair, TAG is still in beta, so look for additional features going forward. Better still; let the TAG group know what you want.
Real utility comes from adding functions to support new TAGs types. Right now TAG does not support an SMS message, so that will be a new type for TAG but what about all the other types. All you need do is look around the mobile interface to find existing applications that could interact with TAG. Consider an event TAG; with a reminder that you could simply add to your calendar? What about a location TAG that offers to invoke live maps or a TAG pushpin that you could add to your personal map in the cloud? Maybe a TAG for audio or video to interact with Media Player.
Creating new types that interact with applications or manipulating types already on mobile devices extends utility even further. We created a mobile application for QR Codes that would allow a person to select one of their contacts and then generate a QR Code vCard. When shown to another person, that person could read the code and then add the contact to their list. There was no typing, no pain, just a couple of clicks.
I can guess what you're thinking; isn't this a solution looking for a problem. Sure, most people would just hand you a business card but then what? Some you throw away, some you keep and some you might even type into your contacts list but if the transfer were simple and painless, there is a much greater chance you will keep the information.
The next step comes from the use of custom types. This is different from a customer design, where the code is integrated into a picture. A custom type involves developers creating TAGs specifically designed to interact with custom applications.
An example of this would be replacing conventional bar codes on your inventory items with TAGs that are processed by a custom application to count and help manage your inventory. Many products have multiple 1D barcodes and both QR Codes and TAGs accommodate more information. You could capture an inventory number, a lot number, manufacture date, posted price and a host of other information all at once. If you have a warehouse or grocery store, that utility is the kind that could make you a believer.
Many companies already have systems and applications in place, so it simply becomes a matter a little glue and the right custom type.
In truth, there are potentially hundreds, if not thousands of possibilities for custom TAG types and applications that perform specific tasks. The Fact - many QR Code types use standards like MIME but there are already custom QR Codes for mobile and where industrial readers are in use there would be many more. Remember, long before they ever made their way onto mobile phones, Toyota used QR Codes in automotive production.
And while there will be many applications developed, most likely it won't be any "killer" application that leads the way. It is far more likely that combinations of applications will drive utility, making the mobile device an indispensible tool.
An example of an indispensible application is one we call the "Best Before" app. It's a simple concept that has cost savings and sufficient benefits for producers and manufacturers, as well as significant value for consumers and is describe fully elsewhere on this site.
Replace all the best before dates with TAGs. Then, any time a consumer wants to check the condition of a TAGged item, they use the TAG reader. The real benefit to everyone comes when a problem forces a product recall. Since, an item's owner controls the TAG, they simply change the result a consumer gets when they scan an item to "Recall" or something similar. There is no need for TV bulletins, no lot numbers, no date ranges, just "Recall".
Like other evolutionary changes in life, it would be so simple to scan our food before we eat it, it would become second nature. And just like that, TAG and your Windows Phone become indispensible.
Perhaps the biggest advantage is that of TAG is from Microsoft. Before you go off thinking that is a bad thing, you need to understand that the previous technology has been simmering for 7 years. During this time, participants have been fighting over how to monetize it, how to patent it and how to control it. In general, they spent most of their insuring that no one else could profit from it; reminiscent of the UNIX wars in the Eighties.
And I'm not so naive to think that Microsoft wouldn't want to make as much as they can from their technology but they also recognize they can't do it all themselves and promoting the API to developers from the outset is a clear indication of Microsoft's understanding of the market and willingness to share. And why not? We estimate the number of TAGs at about 4 x 10 to the 60th power for TAGs using the current format. That excludes TAGs that are 8x8 or 10x10 or other formats. If they were to charge a 1/1000th of penny per TAG, that would still be more money than the GWP (GNP of the entire world) for that last 10,000 years, actually more by several magnitudes.