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viacavour

macrumors 6502a
Mar 22, 2012
636
0
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

It's the other way round. You don't need NFC to enable payment yet. See the Square payment system. NFC is another standard-based payment system, but by no means is it universal. At least not now, especially given the recent widespread and major exploit(s) on Android cellphones.
 

kingtj

macrumors 68030
Oct 23, 2003
2,606
749
Brunswick, MD
Umm....

Probably true, except this doesn't mean Apple SHOULDN'T listen to people on this site to get some advice.

Part of the issue, IMO, is simply that more computer-literate "enthusiasts" are more aware of what you CAN do with the technology than the general public. Therefore, something the masses might accept as a "good new thing", we might reject as "Not nearly as good as it could be if you did X and Y first!".


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.
 

viacavour

macrumors 6502a
Mar 22, 2012
636
0
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!

It's a non-issue. Just go back to the app or website or email, your passes are kept on the server but cached on your phone for convenience.

If you have backups on iCloud or PC/Mac, those will work too. :)

Note: I clean up my Passbook all the time, and go back to redownload if necessary.
 
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gfeen

macrumors newbie
Nov 29, 2011
12
3
Why is the delta app displayed on passbook on apple.com when it is not compatible with passbook????
 

Tinmania

macrumors 68040
Aug 8, 2011
3,528
1,016
Aridzona
I don't get peoples affinity towards NFC.... For one bluetooth has the radios to emulate it quite well... Apple just doesn't think its a good idea, period! If they did we'd have it.
Yes when master says it is a good idea then it will be a GRAND idea! :D




Michael
 

skellener

macrumors 68000
Jun 23, 2003
1,786
543
So. Cal.
I don't really understand what Passbook is supposed to do. I had a Living Social coupon that I had to pull up in the Living Social app. Only then did it ask if I wanted to place it into Passbook and it did. But if I have to have the original app anyway, WTF is the point? Tried it with Fandango too. Had to pull up the app first. I'm not really seeing any benefit here. Maybe other services work better with it?
 

D.T.

macrumors G4
Sep 15, 2011
11,050
12,460
Vilano Beach, FL
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.

Here's a little walkthrough I put together, with screen shots from the various steps, some narrative about how things worked, etc.:

https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=15914069&passbook#post15914069
 

Tinmania

macrumors 68040
Aug 8, 2011
3,528
1,016
Aridzona
It's the other way round. You don't need NFC to enable payment yet. See the Square payment system. NFC is another standard-based payment system, but by no means is it universal. At least not now, especially given the recent widespread and major exploit(s) on Android cellphones.
Did you actually read my question?

Again, what does BLUETOOTH have to do with Passbook that does not support bluetooth??

And, yes, Passbook is indeed a glorified barcode printer. That is about it. Oh it can be hidden away in a folder. So there is that.


Michael
 

viacavour

macrumors 6502a
Mar 22, 2012
636
0
I don't really understand what Passbook is supposed to do. I had a Living Social coupon that I had to pull up in the Living Social app. Only then did it ask if I wanted to place it into Passbook and it did. But if I have to have the original app anyway, WTF is the point? Tried it with Fandango too. Had to pull up the app first. I'm not really seeing any benefit here. Maybe other services work better with it?

Probably because Passbook passes are location and time-aware. The OS will centralize the check for everyone instead of letting every app ping your location and time periodically. The battery will go flat in no time !
 

viacavour

macrumors 6502a
Mar 22, 2012
636
0
Did you actually read my question?

Again, what does BLUETOOTH have to do with Passbook that does not support bluetooth??

And, yes, Passbook is indeed a glorified barcode printer. That is about it.


Michael

To a hasty techie, it probably looks like a glorified barcode printer. ;-)

Passbook can be expanded to support new protocol. It is a set of specifications after all.
 

bushido

Suspended
Mar 26, 2008
8,070
2,755
Germany
i dont understand that app at all, like if i click on "lufthansa" in passbook it just leads me to the lufthansa app at the App Store :confused:
 

viacavour

macrumors 6502a
Mar 22, 2012
636
0
i dont understand that app at all, like if i click on "lufthansa" in passbook it just leads me to the lufthansa app at the App Store :confused:

That's because the Passbook app aggregates the passes, not the apps. The Lufthansa app (or email or website) delivers the passes into the Passbook app. The Passbook app centralizes all the location check, time check for these passes, plus any other Passbook update/negotiation on behalf of the originating apps to save battery life.
 

Tinmania

macrumors 68040
Aug 8, 2011
3,528
1,016
Aridzona
To a hasty techie, it probably looks like a glorified barcode printer. ;-)

Passbook can be expanded to support new protocol. It is a set of specifications after all.

And yet still no answer to what bluetooth has to do with passbook--and of course I mean at this time not 2 years from now. I give up. :confused:




Michael
 

JHankwitz

macrumors 68000
Oct 31, 2005
1,911
58
Wisconsin
I wanted to like/use it, but there weren't enough retailers for me to be interested. The Starbucks card was nice, but anything else I tried to use (like Target) had me download a separate app first. I'm sure Passbook will be more useful in the future, but I'm tired of Apple putting out half-baked ideas.

Passbook is kind of like the introduction of the FAX machine. Who wants to buy one if you have no one to FAX stuff to? And new technology is always so clunky compared to the highly evolved stuff several years later. It takes a while for new technology to become mainstream and into wide use. The downside is if there are no early adopters, manufacturers will not invest to make it better and the product will fail.
 

viacavour

macrumors 6502a
Mar 22, 2012
636
0
And yet still no answer to what bluetooth has to do with passbook--and of course I mean at this time not 2 years from now. I give up. :confused:




Michael

Bluetooth and Passbook are both OS level features. There is no direct tie between BT and Passbook. They just work together in the context of the app. E.g. Scanning the Passbook QR code using BT scanner in a POS system.

It's advantage is it's here now. NFC may be used for payment and other inter-device transfer in the future.
 

Cole Slaw

macrumors 65816
Oct 6, 2006
1,023
1,580
Canada
I really wish I could get rid of this damned app, but unfortunately it's one of Apple's "Untouchables".
Meaning I forced to live with it cluttering up my screen.
 

ctdonath

macrumors 68000
Mar 11, 2009
1,592
629
Why is everything Apples fault?

I didn't say it was.
I said it's a chicken-and-egg problem where someone (Apple) has to push the app out there, get the infrastructure started, and persuade broad acceptance until critical mass makes it a brain-dead must-do for the masses. In the meantime, there will be lots of technical hiccoughs and few adherents.
 

viacavour

macrumors 6502a
Mar 22, 2012
636
0
I really wish I could get rid of this damned app, but unfortunately it's one of Apple's "Untouchables".
Meaning I forced to live with it cluttering up my screen.

Check out the Passbook hack that allows you to hide other Apple's untouchable apps.
 

slu

macrumors 68000
Sep 15, 2004
1,636
107
Buffalo
I can't figure it out. When I open passbook, it just shows me a link to the app store. And I have some passbook apps but I can't figure out how to do anything with them in passbook. I like the idea, but they need to work on usability.
 

viacavour

macrumors 6502a
Mar 22, 2012
636
0
I can't figure it out. When I open passbook, it just shows me a link to the app store. And I have some passbook apps but I can't figure out how to do anything with them in passbook. I like the idea, but they need to work on usability.

Yeap, lack of an "a-ha!" user experience is the single, biggest issue with Passbook today.
 

djjclark

macrumors regular
Feb 17, 2008
194
7
how does the airline passbook passes work with security? They write on my paper tickets so would I still need paper for TSA?
 

Compile 'em all

macrumors 601
Apr 6, 2005
4,130
323
Yes it yesterday for my flight with Lufthansa. Worked great and felt even better. Too bad very few still use it.
 
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