Written on Thursday, December 22, 2011
I was recently made aware of this excellent example of a mobile payments solution that goes very far into showing how they are already possible using technologies readily available today.
Most mobile payments solutions you'll hear, including Google's Wallet, involve at some point or another the use of Near-Field Communications (NFC) - therefore the huge hype around this new technology and the reason it is going to become a standard in all mobile phones.
Today's post is about a solution that makes mobile payments possible using technologies already available in most mobile phones today.
Read on to find out how:
MUNICH. Telefónica Germany, Telekom and Vodafone are launching a new
offer for their shared mobile payment service mpass. Smartphones can now
be used as digital admission tickets for the special exhibition "PERGAMON - Panorama of the Ancient Metropolis"
at Berlin's Museum Island. The tickets are conveniently paid for on the
next mobile phone bill while a QR code on the mobile's display opens
the museum turnstiles. Other museums are planning to offer the mobile
payment service in the future.
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Written on Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Today's post is a guest post from Bethany, a fellow blogger, who wanted to write about Bluetooth Proximity Marketing:
Bluetooth proximity marketing is a method which allows the users of a bluetooth device to interact with various advertising agencies by receiving fresh information on various products such as vouchers, coupons etc. The user also receives music files, video files, contact information, V cards, and other product information; which may prove useful from a user’s perspective.
Understanding Proximity Marketing
Proximity Marketing can be understood as the localized wireless distribution content assigned for a predefined locality. These transmissions can be received by using required equipment. This type of distribution can be availed through a localized broadcast or recognizable devices in a specific area. The locations of a device can be determined by a cellular, bluetooth or internet.
Bluetooth Proximity Marketing
1. Bluetooth works on a short range wireless system and being supported by many mobile devices. This makes it a mode of the transmissions used for proximity marketing.
2. A bluetooth broadcasting system should be installed for a specific locality to send information such as text messages, image files, contacts, audio or video files etc in a bluetooth proximity marketing system.
Posted in
bluetooth,
bluetooth marketing,
proximity marketing
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Written on Tuesday, December 20, 2011
This is perhaps some of the biggest news - professionally speaking - I've heard in months!
Yes, you heard that right! Apple has done the - so far - unthinkable and opened up your iPhone's bluetooth for use within other applications, by providing developers with a Bluetooth 4.0 LE API they can now use. Why is this not on their home page, right? Well, admittedly Siri is pretty damn good and justifies the headlines (apart from the annoying "I can only look for business in the U.S. and when using U.S. English" message).
Still, this is great news not just for everyone in Bluetooth Proximity Marketing, but also anyone in the mobile apps industry who wants to implement applications that no longer necessarily need a data plan!
There have been rumblings about some of the new additions to the iOS 5.0 bluetooth stack and hardware in iPhone 4S. ex: [
link]
So let’s poke around the Core Bluetooth Framework in the Xcode
documentation and see what kinds of new things will be possible with
this API.
Some high level benefits of this API are:
- Bluetooth 4.0 LE does not require pairing. So if a TV or another
device that you’ve never seen before is broadcasting, you can see its
signal and connect to it without having to go to the Settings app.
- Uses less power.
- Apps can be woken up and become active when sent signals via the CoreBluetooth API.
- If another app is using a Bluetooth 4.0 LE device, your app will be
able to use it as well. A super awesome use case for this would be that
heartbeat monitor you got. Your 3rd party social network app will also
be able to use the connection as well!
Posted in
bluetooth,
bluetooth marketing,
iPad,
iPhone,
proximity marketing
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Written on Wednesday, December 14, 2011
So the fisherman says to the fish: "Can you text me when you're in my net, so I can come pick you up?"
No, it's not some rubbish joke (though I imagine there probably is one out there starting something like that). Instead it's a brilliant new idea by Pascal Katana, a student from Nairobi, Kenya, who has implemented a new contraption that combines SMS notifications with what I presume is one of his favourite activities (it is one of mine!) - fishing.
Posted in
sms,
sms marketing,
text marketing
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Written on Monday, December 12, 2011
One of the blog's all-time favourite brands (for contribution in content I mean - not by personal preference), Starbucks is now tipping its toes in the ocean that is NFC marketing.
In a Groupon type offer, Starbucks China is offering a free drink voucher to anyone who checks-in to Starbucks through the social network Jiepang, as long as a total of 30K check-ins is reached up-until-and-not-after Christmas day.
Wait a minute... Something didn't quite sound right there, did it? "Christmas is celebrated in China??".. well, yes, apparently it is - mostly in the major cities - and even though most of the christmas decorations we use are manufactured there, it is not a very widespread celebration across the country.
Anyway, here's more from the
original post:
The coffee giant is using NFC-enabled posters to promote a rewards
campaign that will see everyone who checks in to Starbucks via social
network Jiepang getting a voucher for a free drink upgrade — but only if
a total of 30,000 check-ins is reached by the Christmas deadline.
Posted in
NFC,
social networking
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Written on Wednesday, December 07, 2011
I bet you've all started hearing about this - mobile payments. Whether you do or don't know exactly what it means, the following infographic gives a good overview of the whole electronic payments sector (with some useful mobile payments statistics in there for your business plans, presentations, etc.) and goes on to present mobile payments as well. Enjoy...
Posted in
mobile payments,
mobile services
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Written on Monday, December 05, 2011
Did you know its been 19 years since the very first text message was sent? It’s true, the first text message was sent on December 03, 1992 to Richard Jarvis from Neil Papworth, who sent the message using his personal computer. The text message read “Merry Christmas”.
Below is a timeline the fellows over at
Tatango created to help your readers understand how text messaging has evolved over the past19 years.
Posted in
sms,
sms marketing,
text marketing
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