Microsoft Tag mobile barcode application N95 S60-3rd step-by-step review

I finally managed to install the Microsoft Tag reader onto my N95 with the help from Gavin Jancke from Microsoft. It didn’t work originally due to a problem with the time and then due to the security certificate. Third time lucky.

I was told by Gavin that Microsoft Tag on the S60 3rd-platform is an “amazing experience” so I was desperate to try it.
Here is a step my step with images of what happened. Sorry about the image quality but I was using the N95 and taking pictures with the iPhone at the same time.

 This is an image of the open Microsoft Tag application. If you look closely you will see three icons at the top of the app. They mean Share, Render (go to the Internet) and Store. I tested each of the above services using the scanner and I scanned the GoMo News icon from the home page of GoMo News.

If you look even more closely you will see faint green lines on the image the shape of the code in a box format. When you hold the scanner to the image the green transparent box appears to scan the image. This works amazingly fast.

Infact, I fear it might work a tad too fast as I managed to get this to work for the share and store functionality but even after 30 minutes of trying it never worked to get the code to link to the Internet. This was in contrast to the m-tag Phone application where it worked instantly – once a picture was taken.

This is the error I received when trying to use the code to download the GoMo News site. What ever I did the code rendered so quickly that I couldn’t position it correctly – despite trying. This scanner has the opposite problem to the Nokia N95 scanner which is just too slow. This is too too fast and it needs a really steady hand to get it right.

Saying that when you change the icon setting to Share or Store the experience is completely different. The tag is pulled instantly – it reminds me of a Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid gun fight as its so fast its amazing.

Sharing is a treat and ultra-simple. This is what you see the instant the tag renders. Send to SMS, MMS or email.

Again – I never managed to get a picture of the store function as it was just too quick. Storing the code to the phone is ultra-fast and easy to use.  Storing any image is simple and fast and easy.

What did we think?

I think it is unfortunate that I couldn’t get the actual code to render online (open up the code to the gomonews.com link). But at the same time – it was so much fun having the other features they weighed out using the application as a whole. The send and share is so fast and the icons on the top – look good.

Saying that – should having the code be read and go the destination URL be THE priority and not the other features. I know I can forgive this (for now- as the product is in beta). But will others be able to forgive this. If it doesn’t work first time will people give up immediately?

I am not sure. I think that mobile barcodes users that are used to other readers might be a tad disappointed – but because it didn’t work for me after 30 minutes – it might work for others with a steadier hand.

But once again, its a nice application. Its a shame I find the codes a bit ugly and again its a huge shame it is proprietary. We live in a social media, open and viral world and this application oozes these features…. if only it oozed 1D, 2D, Datamatrix codes as well.