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NRF’s New Tech Toys: Getting Investment Blood Out Of An IT Stone

Written by Evan Schuman
January 8th, 2009
The retail industry, fresh out of its exhausting and profitable holiday season, is used to coming together in January and watching vendors strut their latest toys for good retail IT girls and boys. But this year is not shaping up to be like most years. The vendors, in smaller numbers, will still be strutting, but will anyone be buying?

Microsoft will use the show to roll out its version of smartphone-readable 2-D barcodes. Redmond's approach with "Microsoft Tag" brings multiple colors into those barcodes, which allows them to be 50 percent smaller but still more easily and reliably read than today's 2-D barcodes, said Kevin Kerr, Microsoft's worldwide retail technology strategist. Other rollouts will include virtual makeup mirrors, virtual customized music creation and wireless debit devices.

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Posted in CRM, IT Strategy/Industry, Mobile/Wireless/Contactless, Payment Systems, Premium Content
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