04 March 2010 | Author: D. Warburton Search Copywriter

Microsoft releases first application for Android phones

Microsoft has released its first application for Google's Android phone, one of the major competitors to Windows Mobile.

Microsoft Tag is a colour barcode reader application launched last year by the Silicon Valley software giant, which offers an alternative to other barcode technologies such as QR-Code, Datamatrix and ShotCode.

Microsoft also claimed that its colour barcodes are capable of holding more information than other formats. A major difference from standard barcode software is that Microsoft Tag only holds the location of a URL or server holding the user's data, which can then be accessed using the code reader application from a mobile handset.

The BBC reports that the application was previously released for Windows phones as well as rival iPhone, Blackberry and Symbian handsets across 2009, but this is the first time Microsoft has offered an application for the mobile product of its Mountain View nemesis.

Microsoft previously crossed the same bridge with Apple when it released its Seadragon application for the iPhone in December 2008, which paved the way for Tag being made available to Apple phones in early 2009. The company evidently held off a lot longer in making its barcode reader available to Android users, and according to the BBC, the move was made against a background of greater cooperation between mobile operators regarding phone software - namely the formation of the Wholesale Applications Community last week.

This community was established to challenge the dominance of Apple in the smartphone market, with major players including O2 and Orange combining their resources to create an open platform for mobile applications.