Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has recently introduced its iBeacon system at retail stores and a few select sports stadiums, with many more venues slated for inclusion in the near future. This device communicates with iOS 7 mobile devices such as iPhones and iPads via a low energy Bluetooth connection, and is set up to provide highly localized information of immediate use to the device’s owner, such as data on a museum exhibit, special prices on sales items on the display rack the user is walking past, or whatever other information the iBeacon’s owner sees fit to transmit. Data is fully tailored to each individual location.
Information beamed to iPhones and iPads does not necessarily need to be about products, sales, and promotions. Providing detailed background data that lets people enjoy museums more, for instance, is a utility that some developers are already bringing to the table. The Rubens House in Antwerp is working to install a system that integrates with Apple mobile devices to provide visitors with interior maps, stories about the artwork they are viewing, and so on. This enables people to enjoy a guided tour through the museum at their own pace, rather than needing to move at the speed chosen by a human guide. Other potential uses would be notifications in parks and nature reserves, maps in government and public buildings helping people find the department they are seeking, and so forth.
Most of the Apple Inc. (AAPL) iBeacon usage will, of course, be commercial. Most locations currently running the system are Apple’s own stores, where success has been mixed. Reminders about sales and trade-ins are beamed to the appropriate devices. Should the technology spread, however, one can easily imagine an iPhone user walking into a grocery store and immediately receiving notifications about a big sale on cheese in Aisle 2, toilet paper in Aisle 7, and a 2-for-the-price-of-1 special on potting soil in the gardening section. This has led several editorial commentators to compare the iBeacon to online “spammers” who bombard e-mail inboxes with unwanted advertising messages.
There are several reasons why it is safe to assume that Apple’s (AAPL) iBeacon will not be as spammy as it initially sounds. The most important of these reasons is that there are several obvious ways to opt out of receiving its messages. Initially, the iBeacon will give users a prompt asking whether or not they want to open the app that will show them localized information and deals. Also, since the informational beacon uses Bluetooth, a user could presumably just switch Bluetooth off if they wished to silence the flow of data.
Additionally, many iBeacon situations will require that a specific app be downloaded from the App Store before beacon messages can arrive. A prime example is the At The Ballpark app, which is already in use at two sports stadiums and will soon be active at 18 more. Though this app offers advertisements for discounted prices at various stadium vendors, specials on last-minute tickets, and so on, it needs to be deliberately downloaded before it starts transmitting its data. In short, the owner of an Apple Inc. (AAPL) mobile device must actively opt into the iBeacon system before receiving its messages – the polar opposite of spam.
Overall, though it does have its crass commercial aspect, the Apple iBeacon system seems as though it will ultimately be what its users choose to make of it. Apple is, in the last analysis, simply supplying a platform on which retailers and organizations can build whatever edifice they wish – and are capable of building. Wireless data integration between mobile devices and fixed beacons is probably an inevitable part of technology’s ongoing evolution. However, it may be a net positive that one of the first groundbreaking forays into the field has been undertaken by Apple, whose security measures are quite robust, helping to mitigate the risk of data theft by hackers breaking into the system through the beacons.
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