Mobile Commerce - Microsoft opens its 2-D bar code system to rival QR codes - Internet Retailer

In a surprising move, Microsoft Corp. today announced that its proprietary two-dimensional bar code system Microsoft Tag now can generate and read Quick Response, or QR, 2-D bar codes. This could be a sign that Microsoft has seen the writing on the wall—or perhaps the QR codes on the wall, not Tags.

“They have recognized that Tag will not be able to gain critical mass at this point,” says Dan Shust, director of emerging media at interactive marketing firm Resource Interactive.

One need only look around to see that the freely available, standardized QR codes are by far the dominant player in the 2-D bar code realm. The black-and-white squares with patterns of much smaller black-and-white squares within appear on everything from magazine ads to product packages to the sides of buildings. Microsoft Tags, black squares with jagged colorful diamond patterns or images, are not much in evidence.

Mobile Commerce - Microsoft opens its 2-D bar code system to rival QR codes - Internet Retailer