But still available free of charge

May 27, 2010 14:17 GMT  ·  By

18 months after the introduction of the public Beta milestone of Microsoft Tag, the Redmond company has wrapped up the development process and produced a version 1 offering. Microsoft Tag is the software giant’s unique mobile barcode technology, capable of producing High Capacity Color Barcodes (HCCBs) that are superior to older QR code standards, in terms of customization options, and the amount of information that can be included in a smaller area.

As of today, May 27th, 2010, Tag is out of Beta, with Microsoft underlining that the basic use of Tags will be free of charge. Specifically, owners of an impressive range of devices will be able to download the Tag client free from the Redmond company, and read Microsoft Tags wherever they find them, provided that their mobile phone features a camera. Users will also be able to create their own Tags using HCCBs, and, just as it is the case with downloading, installing and using the Microsoft Tag client, the company will not charge them a cent.

“This means you will be able to generate and use Tags that link to our standard scenarios, such as linking directly to webpages, and use the reader application at no cost. By simply going to Tag.Microsoft.com, you can create Tags and deliver rich interactive experiences on mobile phones, [and] track your Tags,” Aaron Getz, general manager, Microsoft Tag, revealed.

At the start of this year, I did an interview with Getz that will deliver more insight into the technology. According to Getz, one billion tags have already been created since Microsoft Tag was launched in Beta, a clear indication that users are embracing this superb example of technology. “In the month of April alone, more than 20 million magazines with Tags were in the hands of U.S. consumer,” he added.

Microsoft hammered away at the technology during the extensive Beta development stage, and optimized certain functionalities. New features are also available to customers, kicking up a notch the experience around creating, executing and tracking Tag campaigns.

The company introduced a “Device ID feature – allows marketers to deliver a more personalized consumer experience across multiple Tags. [And] a .tag file format – makes it easier to print large numbers of Tags as part of a broad campaign deployment,” a Microsoft representative told Softpedia.

Still, the evolution of Microsoft Tag is just the beginning. The promise from Microsoft is that a free Heat Map feature is planned for the future, allowing customers better monitoring capabilities of Tag usage by location. “Based on feedback we heard from marketers, Microsoft is developing an additional set of value-added services it will eventually roll out to customers wanting functionality such as advanced reporting and analytics and location based services,” the Microsoft spokesperson added.