Why? I keep hearing people say this, but in every way I can think of, screen reading is better.
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Passbook Proving Popular for Developers and Retailers
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Why? I keep hearing people say this, but in every way I can think of, screen reading is better.
I saw a BestBuy discount in one of the deal aggregator apps. It's a 10% off for headphones.
I also didn't think I'd find much use for Passbook as I'm also in the UK. But about three weeks ago I went online to book some tickets for a show in London's west end. The booking was handled by a company called EventBrite.
In the confirmation email that I got it said "If you have an iPhone why not store your tickets in Passbook?" So I downloaded the EventBrite app and when I logged in, it let me see the tickets I just bought - and I was able to import them into Passbook.
Basically it meant that when I went to the show, the tickets popped up on the lock screen when I was near the location and I just had to show that, get it scanned, and we were in! Much cooler than printing out the tickets at home bringing the printouts with me
Granted - I don't go to west end shows that regular, but it was pretty neat and it worked well for me.
Hopefully more event companies will start making more use of Passbook!
RTP.
How does Passbook work? Does it load up cards like shown in the pictures or do the cards pop up when it detects the location via GPS?
If it detects the location, can you disable that option?
I'm still on iOS 5, I'm just curious. I'd love to lighten the load in my wallet.
If it detects the location, can you disable that option?
I'm still on iOS 5, I'm just curious. I'd love to lighten the load in my wallet.
Thanks so much for mentioning that, I didn't know that existed. Now Passbook actually does something useful! Gets rid of the stupid Newstand app!!
What companies exactly have these "deals"?
The only companies that do business near me that I actually would use and have a passbook app are Target and Livenation/ticketmaster. I have the target app but not once found anything to do with passbook in it. And the livenation/ticketmaster thing is venue specific so they don't even take it anywhere.
I hope it gets better because it seems like a good idea but unless there's widespread adoption it's completely useless.
When I added my Starbucks card to Passbook, it started eating data like there was no tomorrow, presumably while constantly checking to see if there was a Starbucks nearby. I deleted it, and things went back to normal.
I use it primarily for Amtrak and Living Social. I was flying on Lufthansa in October and used it for that also, and United just added support. I'm waiting on JetBlue - having it would have saved me a lot of hassle earlier this week!
I think it's a neat tool. I hope to see continued adoption in the future.
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Turn off location services for Passbook. I was running into a lot of battery usage with my Amtrak tickets as it was searching for nearby stations. I could care less about the tickets appearing on the lock screen when I'm near the station, so I shut it off.
I think it's a neat tool. I hope to see continued adoption in the future.
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Turn off location services for Passbook. I was running into a lot of battery usage with my Amtrak tickets as it was searching for nearby stations. I could care less about the tickets appearing on the lock screen when I'm near the station, so I shut it off.
Heavier users like myself definitely get more out of it but there is significant benefit to using a Starbucks card for payment. I have a registered Starbucks card set up to auto-reload at a certain dollar amount--every time you pay with the card, Starbucks tracks it and give you a free drink after 12 payments. I just drink regular coffee but my wife loves the more elaborate drinks so for every $20-25 I spend there I get basically a free $5 drink for her.
You set it up for Passbook use in the Starbucks app one time (including identifying 10 most frequently visited stores) and you're done. Now whenever I'm in the vicinity of one of those Starbucks, a swipe to open notification appears on my lock screen which immediately opens the card in Passbook for scanning--very convenient.
I'll agree though that Passbook is not intuitive as all of the cards/programs usually require separate setup within another app and those apps often do not guide you through their setup process.
What the results show is that people who frequent this site (including myself) are not representative of the average iPhone user. In addition, this is why Apple doesn't listen to people on this site for advice on how to build profitable features.
It's a humbling lesson but a good one once we accept it.
It's a humbling lesson but a good one once we accept it.
Typically I am flying with them... on Saturday.. but perhaps on the way back on the 6th Jan
I would actually prefer if Passbook were a marriage of the two. I could use paypass terminals with NFC, and scan the screen at places like movie theatres.
Assuming you are in US...
Passbook works best with the deal aggregators like Valpak, Money Mailer, coupons.com, Zoomingo, etc. But you have to be a deal hunter to scout for your favorite deals. You don't need a retailer account for these.
Some stores like Target and Starbucks offer exclusive discounts or loyalty cards. For these, you'll need to sign up with the stores separately. It would mean you are already a frequent visitor.
Other incidental expenses are ticketing, travel and hotel stay. Those apps can generate Passbook receipts for you to claim your reserved seats and rooms.
Then there are Passbook gift cards from your friends, or loyalty gifts from your credit card providers. You may or may not need to redeem these gifts with the gifting app.
Finally, there are also wallet apps that can scan in paper cards and keep them digitally. These apps can export the scanned cards to Passbook so that the cards appear automatically on your lock screen if you're near the right location.
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Go to the wiki link I posted. Start with the deal aggregator category.
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I must be doing something wrong then. I opened passbook, I clicked App Store, selected Starbucks and downloaded the app, it appeared on the screen ascanybother app, even when I did all the log in at my Starbucks account :-(
What does this have to do with Passbook other than to deflect attention to the fact that Apple devices have no NFC? Passbook is little more than a glorified barcode printer.
Michael
IMHO - the real key for PassBook would be adding loyalty/rewards cards.
I know someone already mentioned BBY. They are the perfect example, and should've jumped on this from the beginning. A digital rewards card which shows your point balance and allows you to redeem the rewards certificates right then and there.
Or for starters, at least let me pull the RZ certificates from the app into passbook. I'm not one of those who cares about needing to DL an app to gain the pass from that business, because the app itself is used for other info than just the card, and its nice to have all the cards in one place when that's all I want to see.
Auto-updating balances (points/money) is the real gem of passbook.
I know someone already mentioned BBY. They are the perfect example, and should've jumped on this from the beginning. A digital rewards card which shows your point balance and allows you to redeem the rewards certificates right then and there.
Or for starters, at least let me pull the RZ certificates from the app into passbook. I'm not one of those who cares about needing to DL an app to gain the pass from that business, because the app itself is used for other info than just the card, and its nice to have all the cards in one place when that's all I want to see.
Auto-updating balances (points/money) is the real gem of passbook.
I suppose one can argue consolidation is a positive; but since Starbucks already had an even more flexible app pre-Passbook I don't find the Passbook app compelling.
Given the security concerns with NFC, the recommendation is to leave it disabled until you want to make a transaction. If I'm going to have to turn something off and on to make purchases, I'd just as soon use an app.
Yeah, I passed on Passbook too, so far....
I get the concept, that it lets you get rid of carrying around extra pieces of paper (coupons or paper tickets), and can be a substitute for another piece of plastic (credit card/gift card) too.
But like other people said, it's still half-baked. If you have to download another app (like Target does) just to put passes into Passbook, that's pointless. Why not just let the app manage its own offers/purchases and save the extra step?
And really, I'm not sure I even *want* all this stuff trapped inside my phone or device? I mean, say I have a bunch of credit for items in Passbook but then I drop and break my phone? Now I've also cancelled out my ability to access those funds/credits until I get the phone replaced and get my data synced back onto it? Same problem if my device is stolen or decides to malfunction, or the battery runs down and I don't have access to recharge it. People might say, "Who cares?" about a Starbucks coffee, but it sure would be an issue on a non-refundable airline ticket I was about to use!
I get the concept, that it lets you get rid of carrying around extra pieces of paper (coupons or paper tickets), and can be a substitute for another piece of plastic (credit card/gift card) too.
But like other people said, it's still half-baked. If you have to download another app (like Target does) just to put passes into Passbook, that's pointless. Why not just let the app manage its own offers/purchases and save the extra step?
And really, I'm not sure I even *want* all this stuff trapped inside my phone or device? I mean, say I have a bunch of credit for items in Passbook but then I drop and break my phone? Now I've also cancelled out my ability to access those funds/credits until I get the phone replaced and get my data synced back onto it? Same problem if my device is stolen or decides to malfunction, or the battery runs down and I don't have access to recharge it. People might say, "Who cares?" about a Starbucks coffee, but it sure would be an issue on a non-refundable airline ticket I was about to use!
You are doing it right. You just need to save/export the Starbucks loyalty card to Passbook. From then on, the pass should appear on your lock screen when you turn on your phone near a Starbucks store.
