Tag: Have Microsoft and Google joined forces?

The Tag application

Despite being fierce rivals in the online search arena, it would appear both Microsoft and Google have come together to form a tentative alliance in the smartphone market, with news that Microsoft has made an application that works with Google's Android phone.

The software called Tag, use a handset's camera to turn it into a mobile bar-code reader and tagger. But why the hell have Microsoft made the app in the first place? I mean, it's for the Android operating system, one of the main rivals to Windows Mobile. But it's not just Google that Microsoft appears to be helping; they've made the Tag application for the iPhone, Blackberry and Symbian handsets also.

So why are they doing this?

Well, firstly it's not the first time they've done it. In December 2008, Microsoft produced its first iPhone app, called Seadragon, and followed it up in early 2009 by releasing Tag for the Apple handset. The reason behind this is simple.

Money.

Apple has one of the largest and most established app stores in the market. At the beginning of the year, it was estimated that 3 billion apps had been downloaded from Apple. As such, it is another avenue of income for Microsoft.

Not just that, but they're getting their products out to a market who might be wary of Microsoft's brand in the smartphone sector.  If they can convince people that they can produce state-of-the-art apps, then there's every chance people will take a punt on their phones.

Furthermore, operators of phone software are trying to improve relations between them in order to co-operate and make the market easier for all to work in. Last month, the world's largest mobile network phone operators banded together to create the Wholesale Applications Community in order to make it easy for application developers to make and sell phone applications.

Up until then, power lay with software firms and phone makers who held most control of the lucrative application market.

Relevant articles:

Nokia to sue Apple over iPhone dispute | Nokia hit hard in 'Smartphone War' | Will Apple's new product dominate 2010?

Timon Singh

Timon Singh is a graduate of Liverpool University where he received a degree in Social and Economic History. He has previously worked for BBC Magazines on BBC Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine, the publication for the popular genealogy show.

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