Group items tagged

Microsoft recently launched their updated, all-in-one, QR Code and Tag reader, that also has the ability to interact with NFC (Near Field Communication) technology.

The new Microsoft Tag app can not only scan QR codes and Tags but it also can read Near Field Communication triggers too.

SHAPE, the leading active lifestyle magazine for women, reached record breaking numbers in mobile sweepstakes entries using a 2D Barcode, such as a Microsoft Tag or QR Code, with its November issue Microsoft Tag campaign.  Commemorating the brand's 30th birthday, SHAPE created with Nellymoser (http://www.nellymoser.com), a mobile marketing company, an interactive sweepstakes offering readers the opportunity to win close to 1000 products throughout the issue.

This celebratory campaign allowed readers to scan-to-win everything from an exercise bike to their favorite mascara, as well as other SHAPE picks featured on the pages of the magazine.

1 billion consumers will own smartphones by 2016, with U.S. users owning 257 million smartphones and 126 million tablets. By 2016, 350 million employees will use smartphones, with 200 million of them bringing their own.

Mobile spending will reach $1.3 trillion by 2016, or 35 percent of the technology economy, with the app market generating $56 billion by 2015.

Apple, Google and Microsoft are expected to control 91 percent of the U.S. smartphone market and 98 percent of the U.S. tablet market by 2016.

Did you know that the U.S. now has more wireless customer connections than people? There are currently estimated to be 327.6 million active wireless customer connections in the U.S. The nation’s population is estimated by the U.S. Census Bureau to be roughly 312 million. This means that today there are now more active broadband tablets, cell phones, and mobile devices than people in this country.

If you represent a big brand or even a medium size business, you should take this as a strong signal that if you don’t have a mobile strategy now is the time to figure one out. Right now, you are potentially missing out on a consumer base that is accessing the mobile Web in masses and is growing rapidly.

Google Android: 38.1% Apple: 26.6% RIM: 24.7% Microsoft: 5.8% Symbian: 2.1%

There have been many attempts to create a WORA platform but none has really succeeded. WORA stands for Write Once Run Anywhere. Some progress was made in the pre iPhone era where platforms were getting developed which could support majority of the feature phones. It tackled the challenge of different screen size and varying user interaction standard reasonably well.

Here are 3 possibilities: 1)      Tablet usage expands to significantly eat into the desktop and laptop usage 2)      Voice technology becomes robust and usable enough to offer a new dimension to user interface design 3)      The Metro UI from Microsoft effectively manages to create a uniform container for application to run in smartphone, tablet and desktop

The report found that of all the 2D barcodes currently available, QR codes is the most popular, accounting for 87% of all marketing campaigns investigated by the firm. Microsoft tags were second, accounting for only 10% of campaigns.

The report also found that 40% of the codes used by companies directed consumers either to the company’s homepage or a commerce-oriented website.

On a quarterly basis, the number of 2D mobile codes in magazines grew from 252 in Q1 to 1155 in Q3 (up 228%).

While there is still some fragmentation in the market among code types used in magazines, QR codes had a 62% share in Q3 compared to 30% using Microsoft Tags, 4% using SpyderLynk SnapTags, and 3% using JagTag solutions. 

Among brands leveraging codes in Q3, Revlon led the pack with 37, followed by Cuisinart with 26, Garnier with 25, Delta with 20 and John Frieda with 19.