Microsoft Makes Its First Move On The Android Platform

Microsoft has just made a move on official Google territory, with the debut of its first app for the Android platform.  This is Google's Android platform we're talking about.  Tag isn't new, per se, since it's the Android parallel to Microsoft's identically named app for the iPhone and various other platforms; it lets you utilize your smartphone functionally as an on-the-go barcode reader.

Starting from today, Tag is available via a free download from the Android Market.  To make use of Tag, you're to direct your handset's camera at a tag (think QRCode, only smaller), take a snapshot, and wait for the app to decipher the nonsense into useful information.

This is a significant move from Microsoft, since Google's Android is Microsoft's upfront challenger in the mobile OS field, made even more so with the advent of Windows Phone 7 Series, coming in the near future.  Nonetheless, bearing in mind that Microsoft has released Tag with the BlackBerry, Symbian, J2ME (Java), and even iPhone platforms, the tech giant seemingly has little-to-nil reservations with employing other rival platforms for its own benefit.

[via Android Community]