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Big Retailers Begin Rolling Out iBeacon Trials
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where can I download a iBeaconBlocker App
I really don't want more annoying ads
especially walking past shops I'll never go into in the first place
Just turn off Bluetooth.
where can I download a iBeaconBlocker App
I really don't want more annoying ads
especially walking past shops I'll never go into in the first place
Sure, the app will be designed for the people who don't know how iBeacon works. I'm sure they will take your money...lol. You have to have the stores app loaded on your iPhone for it to work.
That has been the opposite of my experience. It can read signal strength, but that varies widely depending on how you're holding the device, in particular with reference to where your hand and body are positioned relative to the beacon. It's pretty accurate if you're practically touching the beacon (with a foot or so), but that's not going to make a difference if you're walking by.
The beacon is always active, of course. The trouble is that iOS only periodically checks for beacons with a given UID. I've had the beacon be recognized anywhere from instantly to four minutes depending on factors that I so far haven't been able to predict.
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Incidentally, the experience in real life mirrors my own testing. Read some reviews of iBeacons in the Apple Store. There is one in particular about how the person was getting information for sections of the store that he either wasn't in or had recently left. For example, he was getting iPhone information in the Mac section of the store. Part of this may be bad programming for the App Store app, but I suspect it's at least part a weakness in iBeacon's sensitivity.
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You don't seem to understand what iBeacon does if you ask for an "OS level feature". How it works: A company puts their iBeacons into places of interest. Could be a museum, could be a retailer. Then they create an app which reacts to which of the museums' or which of their company's beacons are nearby and gives information to the user. How can that be OS wide?
What the OS already provides is a very simple way to detect iBeacons, without using any CPU time and any battery power unless the user is actually near iBeacons of interest. So if you run the museum app, and you are at a Sears store surrounded by Sears iBeacons, the museum app will not take _any_ notice of them and waste no battery power.
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That's just what I want a bunch of alerts popping up when I walk through stores.
If you run the app of that store, then yes, that's what you want. If you don't want it, you don't run their app.
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The beginning of the end for paper based money...
That's not what iBeacon does.
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where can I download a iBeaconBlocker App
I really don't want more annoying ads
especially walking past shops I'll never go into in the first place
Clueless beyond belief.
You don't need an "iBeaconBlocker App". All you need to do is to not install and not run an app if you don't want to use iBeacons.
Interesting idea. So they want places to implement a solution that ONLY Apple devices support... yeah good luck with that...
Nevermind... I see this is not contactless payments, but a rather daft idea to install an app to basically do online shopping? In said shop? Hmm....
Nevermind... I see this is not contactless payments, but a rather daft idea to install an app to basically do online shopping? In said shop? Hmm....
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Yes, somethings effect the bluetooth signal. Usually if its in a pants pocket or purse it should still work, but perhaps not as far a range. Your body can also block a signal too, but most likely it will be temporary. People who really want this feature will probably have their phones out using it anyway.
As far as the 30second to 4 minute time difference. I think it depends on how the iBeacon works.
If the beacon puts out the information directly to your phone. Or the beacon puts out a reference signal that is picked up by the application, relayed through the internet then back to the iPhone...then the 30 to 4 minute delay might be the reason why. I have not found out accurate information how that part works.
So if you do need internet capability, it depends on much more factors then bluetooth signal alone. The service provider you have, the coverage area and so on. You could switch to WiFi depending on availability.
But like any new technology it will take some time to setup and work out the bugs.
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I may have phrased myself poorly. What I mean is, unless one single app can handle all stores, I hardly think this will catch on. I thought that was obvious as the article states that as it is now, every store will need their own app. I see how what I wrote can be misinterpreted.
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In store, near the fridge: popup onscreen message : "milk - 50% off"
At the Louvre: popup onscreen message : "you are now looking at the Mona Lisa - painted by Leonardo DaVinci, etc.
Im just guessing, but these beacons have some sort of identifier and that the info is pulled from some database online. Or at least could be. I dont see any big obstacles for this being an OS level feature.
I for one wont clutter my phone with apps from every retailer. But I would consider turning an OS level feature on, if it would inform me of bargains wherever I am.
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That's just what I want a bunch of alerts popping up when I walk through stores.
where can I download a iBeaconBlocker App
I really don't want more annoying ads
especially walking past shops I'll never go into in the first place
People really don't understand how this works.
Good news: it doesn't work the way you think
No need for any blocking.In AMERICA ONLY. Just remember, everywhere else NFC is used, even banks use it in credit cards and you don't get bigger impact then that.
Have a read of this site, lots of company's setting up NFC with mobile phones:
http://nfctimes.com/news
And as for Norway:
http://nfctimes.com/project/norway-country-s-largest-bank-and-telco-trial-payment-and-tsm
Lots of trials have been carried out, you can use a card for contactless payments but they do seem to be fully testing mobile devices. I bet that it doesn't take off for a very long time though, even if Apple gets involved. People like to use cards and pins, this recent survey says no one uses it on there phones:
http://nfctimes.com/news/survey-says-uk-consumers-reluctant-adopt-nfc-payments
So only in a test phase here. That explains why I havent seen it. Havent seen it used in any other parts of EU either. Tbh, while I hope NFC will be successful in transactions, im not sure it will be.
Personally what I would like to see is something that can guide me to what I'm looking for in a store, rather than having to hunt down an employee for directions, which can be an arduous task. Home Depot, I'm looking at you.
Home Depot's app, find the item in the app, or their mobile website. Choose your store.
It gives you isle # for your specific store. and even a map which areas highlighted.
It's very handy, use it often.
Actually, the banks here in the US rolled out NFC in credit cards a few years back ("Paywave", "Paypass"), but it hasn't really caught on, and today fewer and fewer cards seem to have it.
One field where NFC-based payment systems are quite successful is public transport. It is widely used e.g. here in the SF Bay Area (Clipper card), in Hong Kong (Octopus), London (Oyster) and many other places.
Inefficient coding is rampant in this day and age. The first version of "Sid Meir's Pirates!" fitted on an 800k disk back in 1986.
Today "Candy Crush" is nearly 100MB.
This makes no sense.
Thanks, yeah I was reading the articles on the site I posted above and the dates are a few years ago, seems they are only planning on pushing NFC in mobile devices next year but it will be mobile operators doing it, so not sure for what services?
But yeah, public interest has been very very low in the tech so I'm not sure Apple will succeed any better. As I said, people like cards and pin's.