Best Reading of the Day - Entry 0035 Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE)

The latest iteration of Bluetooth technology goes by a few names:

• Bluetooth 4.0
• Bluetooth Smart
• Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE)

Now two companies are referring to it as "Beacon" technology.  Actually Apple is calling it iBeacon but that is pretty much the same thing.  PayPal is working on Beacon technology as well.  What is Bluetooth and what is BLE?

Bluetooth is a wireless technology for exchanging information over short distances.  This is similar to Near_Field_Communication but is now available in most phones on the planet in one form or another.

A key strength of Bluetooth relative to NFC is the range of functionality.  This has also been an area of weakness as Bluetooth commonly drew heavily on battery power and raised security concerns.  With Bluetooth Low Energy, a subset of Bluetooth 4.0, these concerns seem to have been addressed.

PayPal - Beacon

The eBay owned payments company has publicly announced plans for an in-store payment mechanism using BLE.  Here is an excellent article on the subject, though the title quite overstates the case:

http://www.internetretailer.com/2013/09/12/paypal-and-apple-drop-mobile-payments-bombshells

Here is a snippet from that article:

“PayPal Beacon opens the door to a fundamentally different way to use technology to make shopping more valuable and more personal for consumers and retailers,” says David Marcus, president of PayPal, which is owned by eBay Inc. “We challenged ourselves to find a better experience than swiping a credit card. We figured the only better way to pay would be to do nothing. Just walk in a store, and, like magic, when you’re ready to pay, money is transferred securely. No wallet. No card. Nothing to do. Not even touching your phone.”

Apple - iBeacon

Apple's announcement of iOS 7 very quietly pointed to iBeacon.  The September 10 keynote made no mention of the technology.  However, it may become something as big or bigger than the features and functionality highlighted in those announcements.  This article speaks well to Apple and how this decision completes the company's dumping on NFC:

http://gigaom.com/2013/09/10/with-ibeacon-apple-is-going-to-dump-on-nfc-and-embrace-the-internet-of-things/

Here is a snippet from that article:

Using Bluetooth Low Energy(BLE), iBeacon opens up a new whole dimension by creating a beacon around regions so your app can be alerted when users enter them. Beacons are a small wireless sensors placed inside any physical space that transmit data to your iPhone using Bluetooth Low Energy (also known as Bluetooth 4.0 and Bluetooth Smart).

For example, imagine you walk into a mall with an iPhone 5s (comes with iOS 7 and iBeacon). You are approaching a Macy’s store, which means your iPhone is entering into Macy’s iBeacon region. Essentially iBeacon can transmit customized coupons or even walking directions to the aisle where a particular item is located. It can prompt a customer with special promotions or a personalized messages and recommendations based on their current location or past history with the company. 

NFC and iBeacon

One more article speaks to this subject and is also worth reading:

http://www.retail-week.com/

Here is a snippet from that article:

NFC may yet take off with or without Apple - most other mobile devices on the market contain the technology. But having Apple on board would certainly make things easier for NFC’s proponents.

Jan Dawson, chief telecoms analyst at Ovum says: “Apple still doesn’t have NFC in its phones, which is how other device vendors have supported payments, and it looks like it won’t anytime soon.”

Excellent reading overall.  I hope you will take the time to scan through all 3 articles.

Final Thoughts

The mobile internet is in its infancy.  The changes we are seeing are going to continue and are going to impact the way we do things every day, often every moment of every day.  Mobile payments is coming, the so-called "internet of things" is also coming (more on that later).  This past week we learned a bit about what the next few years will look like (iBeacon, M7 chip, Touch ID), and what it won't look like (NFC).

Have a great weekend.

Happy reading,

J.W. Gant

**UPDATE**

This article is a good addition to the above reading list on the topic.

Why Apples Indoor GPS Plan is Brilliant

Happy reading.

**UPDATE #2**

Third party vendors are working on solutions to provide "beacons":
http://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/1518059

**UPDATE #3**

EConsultancy has some information on how marketers can use iBeacon technology:
http://econsultancy.com/us/blog/63633-a-marketer-s-guide-to-ibeacons-and-bluetooth-low-energy

**UPDATE #4**

Aisle411 is using beacon technology for in-store mapping:
aisle411-partners-estimote-indoor-retail-mapping