Google add apps to mobile search results

Findability is something I’ve been pondering since I have an Android phone and have found some elements of the Android App store a little quirky when you are trying to get to the good stuff fast.  Well, finding apps is now going to be a whole lot easier, as Google announced on its mobile blog that it is adding apps to mobile search results. These will take you directly to the iPhone or Android app store (no mention of Ovi or Blackberry).  Read more at the Google Mobile blog.

The problem with barcodes …

I love barcodes, I love the promise they bring of connecting the physical to the digital world with a click/snap/scan. What could be simpler? Scanning a barcode that works and that takes you to content you were expecting, or which enriches your experience is delightful.

Microsoft Tag on the Cambridge EMBA poster

So I was very excited when I saw that the Cambridge Executive MBA poster on my train was using not just a barcode, but a Microsoft Tag. I’ve not seen one of these in the wild yet.  I have two scanning apps installed on my Android phone, however, neither of those worked.

Why? Because this Microsoft tag requires its own app.  Does this mean we need multiple scanning apps? That doesn’t seem sensible does it? Good mobile practise also would have been to have an SMS call to action which then pushed the link to the mobile web to me so I was not excluded if I did not or could not download the app.

This highlights several issues possibly preventing the wider use of barcodes: lack of standards, lack of a sizeable installed base of scanning applications (which have the facility to scan all types of barcodes) and lack of understanding of the mobile user and landscape to deliver an optimal customer experience. Which is probably why more brands aren’t using barcodes.