Last September, I wrote a post about a mobile recognition software from a company called SnapTell. Now, it seems that Microsoft has gotten on the bandwagon.
We know that QR Codes have been around in Japan since the mid-1990s. However, the trend of using them has not caught on in the United States.
Camera phones are now so pervasive, the consumer market might try its hand at the new technology. The mobile recognition creates a great pull technology for people on the go. It gives people immediate access to information, instead of hoping they remember it later.
The Google phone has introduced some of these features in their Android Market - such as comparative shopping by scanning ISBN codes on products. I was very surprised this features was not talked about more during the holiday season. There was one broadcaster who picked up on this features, but it was largely ignored (apparently, Google doesn't really know how to market itself).
It also seems the iPhone users have a high tendency to snap and share photos. The camera type statistics maintained by Flickr show iPhone contributors exploding.
With a generation of cell phone users who are getting comfortable with camera and SMS technology, it looks like Microsoft is aiming to be the big player in the market. They do have a knack for not being the first, but being the most pervasive. I think they will be one to watch if they can get the right partnerships and marketing in action.
Imagine if Microsoft decided to stop competing against a hardware company and get back to comparing itself to software companies. There is a novel idea.
|