Consider the improvement from just replacing all the manuals we have.

Perhaps the simplest but most applicable use of TAGs is to provide instructions. What kind of instructions you ask? Any kind you can think of, on any topic, anywhere we need them.

Of course if there were room for written instructions, you might think you would not need a TAG but there is still the issue multiple languages and that of instructions that change over time.

One of the major advantages transportation providers have found using TAGs to identify transit schedules, is that when the schedule changes you do not have any paper to replace. This is similar to providing an information kiosk at a fraction of the price.

What about that small print on tiny packages (off the shelf medicines come to mind). You wonder how it is possible to make print so small. We actually joke about using TAG for making small print readable, since it turns your phone into the world's most expensive magnifying glass. That said it is a real solution and certainly a lot more useful than making your phone into a level.

Then there's all those products you buy and their user guides and manuals. TAGs applied to a product could easily provide a connection to this information. Furthermore, since you have regional settings, that information can be filtered to respond in your language where available. This would be far more convenient than digging out a 30-page manual and sorting through multiple languages.

Many software and electronic products have already eliminated manuals from their packaging, opting to provide instructions on the web or as a downloadable file. However, things usually don't immediately break and years later it may be more difficult to navigate through a manufacturer's support site looking for instructions for a given product. How much simpler it would be to simply capture a TAG on the product and have a link automatically direct you to the right location.

And what about basic operating instructions or more importantly, safety instructions. I'm no lawyer but I would have to think that as with all other product liability issues, using TAGs on products to highlight safety concerns would certainly add to due diligence. Furthermore, TAGs are modifiable and therefore, a product's instructions could be changed as required and even accommodate notification of recall if a product became defective.

Even if all the cost savings, information improvements, safety issues and liability were not enough to make a manufacturer consider adding an informational TAGs, the one thing they should understand is that TAGs remain a direct link to their individual customers bypassing the entire distribution chain. And even though the intent is to facilitate information about the product, nothing says that information can't include offers to upgrade.