Bubble Could Help Apple's iBeacon Technology Float To New Heights
May 23, 2014
Apple’s year-old iBeacon technology allows retailers and other types of businesses to send relevant notifications to users in close proximity. The problem? The technology has only worked when the user had that specific retailer’s app installed on their iPhone.
That is about to change thanks to a new service called Bubble.
Launching this week, Bubble is the world’s first iBeacon-powered Web browser. With the service anyone can tag a website to a place or thing using an iBeacon. Users with the Bubble browser app can discover these websites when they are nearby.
This sounds like a great idea — assuming Bubble can persuade businesses to sign up for the service. Luckily, the admission price is very reasonable.
Retailers can register up to three beacons for free. Thereafter, Bubble charges $1 per beacon each month.
The Bubble website has yet to post a listing of retailers who are using the service. However, they seem very optimistic that they are coming. The site already has a summary of the different type of businesses where Bubble would work best. These include: retail stores, museums, airports, restaurants, parks, zoos and aquariums, campuses, stadiums, hotels, homes, and retail estate.
Take a look:
http://youtu.be/NtQSJx2nI9I
First introduced in 2013, iBeacon is an indoor positioning system that enables an iOS device or other hardware to send push notifications to iOS devices within close proximity. The technology uses Low Energy Bluetooth (BLE), also known as Bluetooth 4.0 or Bluetooth Smart.
Apple retail stores are already using the technology to provide customers with detailed information on products as they walk by. Many MLB stadiums were equipped with Apple’s new iBeacon when play began in April. In doing so, attending games have become “a completely interactive experience for fans.”
The NFL also used iBeacon during last February’s Super Bowl around New York’s Times Square and at MetLife Stadium.
This sounds like a great idea — assuming Bubble can persuade businesses to sign up for the service. Luckily, the admission price is very reasonable.
Retailers can register up to three beacons for free. Thereafter, Bubble charges $1 per beacon each month.
The Bubble website has yet to post a listing of retailers who are using the service. However, they seem very optimistic that they are coming. The site already has a summary of the different type of businesses where Bubble would work best. These include: retail stores, museums, airports, restaurants, parks, zoos and aquariums, campuses, stadiums, hotels, homes, and retail estate.
Take a look:
http://youtu.be/NtQSJx2nI9I
First introduced in 2013, iBeacon is an indoor positioning system that enables an iOS device or other hardware to send push notifications to iOS devices within close proximity. The technology uses Low Energy Bluetooth (BLE), also known as Bluetooth 4.0 or Bluetooth Smart.
Apple retail stores are already using the technology to provide customers with detailed information on products as they walk by. Many MLB stadiums were equipped with Apple’s new iBeacon when play began in April. In doing so, attending games have become “a completely interactive experience for fans.”
The NFL also used iBeacon during last February’s Super Bowl around New York’s Times Square and at MetLife Stadium.
For more information on the Bubble platform, visit the company’s website.
The free Bubble browser for end-users is available on the App Store. The separate tag manager app is also available here.
See also: This Could Finally Be The Year That NFC Technology Comes To Apple's iPhone, Virgin Atlantic Is Considering iBeacons For London's Heathrow Airport, and MLB.com At The Ballpark 3.0 Features iBeacon Support And iOS 7 Redesign.
