iBeacons in iOS7

Buzby

It might be useful - but who controls it? The venue or the phone owner? If the former, then is the thin end of the wedge - they could then block camera use, GPS and a whole host of things you might not approve of.

How about a private parking company logging the phone ID of cars passing its ANPR cameras in order to identify the driver & passenger.

No thanks!

matttye

Buzby wrote: »

It might be useful - but who controls it? The venue or the phone owner? If the former, then is the thin end of the wedge - they could then block camera use, GPS and a whole host of things you might not approve of.

How about a private parking company logging the phone ID of cars passing its ANPR cameras in order to identify the driver & passenger.

No thanks!

I don't think it can do anything without an app that actually does something when it connects to the iBeacon.

Although your ANPR example would probably work, as presumably the phone will still connect, even if it doesn't do anything upon connecting.

Will wait to hear from about it from Apple.

NFH

Buzby wrote: »

It might be useful - but who controls it? The venue or the phone owner? If the former, then is the thin end of the wedge - they could then block camera use, GPS and a whole host of things you might not approve of.

This would be such a widespread application that there could be a specific option within the iPhone's settings only to permission third parties to put the iPhone into silent mode. Most users would probably enable this in order to save the hassle of doing it manually or the embarrassment of their iPhone making noises in a quiet environment.

JJ_Egan

For what its worth i have all NFC stuff removed from my phone and never use bank/ credit cards in public places .
The why is as i have seen how easy it is to read the cards details just using a smart phone with a specific NFC reader crippled versions of which are on the Play store.

matttye

JJ_Egan wrote: »

For what its worth i have all NFC stuff removed from my phone and never use bank/ credit cards in public places .
The why is as i have seen how easy it is to read the cards details just using a smart phone with a specific NFC reader crippled versions of which are on the Play store.

NFC is not just for payments. It's simply a way of transmitting/receiving data.

redux

matttye wrote: »

If an app is created so that the phone can be programmed to do things when it connects with a specific iBeacon (similar to 'NFC Task Launcher' on Android), I can think of so many uses. One of my favourites is a car stereo that acts as an iBeacon (powered by the car itself), and when you turn your car on and your phone connects, it automatically starts music playing via bluetooth, and opens maps.

Any useful ideas are clearly going to be highly subjective though. For instance, you might have no use for my idea above, but I do. That's why these things should be customisable, otherwise people won't buy them.

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Most electronic lock systems I've seen have a key (or keypad) backup.

Plus doesn't that risk already exist if you lose your key?

That sounds like something to save a hardwire connection or a button press or two.

But surely Bluetooth can connect the phone anyway, without needing this iBeacon?

I'm at the cheap and simple end of the scale. Old car, old radio. I can connect my Nokia phone to a Nokia device which transmits FM radio. 99 pence on eBay. We both still have to choose a tune.

As for the house key, you can pre-arrange a spare key hidden somewhere or left with neighbours. Trickier with a phone.

There are all kinds of interesting technical things that can be achieved, but once in a while we might sit back and ask how productive they are in saving effort compared to the cost.

A friend with an iPhone was asking about maybe making VoIP calls over wifi to save money while abroad. Another suggested Viber. What are Viber rates like to ordinary phone numbers, I asked.

I was looked at as if I was daft. It doesn't do that, was the answer, you pay whatever the roaming rates are. You mean the application doesn't connect the call, but just pushes it back to the GSM network, I asked. Yes.

So what is the advantage of Viber? Apparently it's great when the person you want to call is connected as well.

But I think the person wasn't actually solving the question. I started saying there are other voice over internet applications was well, and I've been using 2 or 3 on my phone for 5 years, and they start making snobby jokes that it can't be a. smartphone as it doesn't have as touch screen, and the subject is soon dead.

I just told my mum this, and she mentioned a friend going on a trip with his grandson. He expected to see a satnav produced instead of a road atlas, but no Grandad I've got an iPad.

It's still a long way to go to understand this iWorld, where a £500 device can seem to have managed to partly lobotomise some of its users.

JJ_Egan

duplicate

YES NFC = near field communication

matttye

redux wrote: »

That sounds like something to save a hardwire connection or a button press or two.

But surely Bluetooth can connect the phone anyway, without needing this iBeacon?

I'm at the cheap and simple end of the scale. Old car, old radio. I can connect my Nokia phone to a Nokia device which transmits FM radio. 99 pence on eBay. We both still have to choose a tune.

As for the house key, you can pre-arrange a spare key hidden somewhere or left with neighbours. Trickier with a phone.

There are all kinds of interesting technical things that can be achieved, but once in a while we might sit back and ask how productive they are in saving effort compared to the cost.

A friend with an iPhone was asking about maybe making VoIP calls over wifi to save money while abroad. Another suggested Viber. What are Viber rates like to ordinary phone numbers, I asked.

I was looked at as if I was daft. It doesn't do that, was the answer, you pay whatever the roaming rates are. You mean the application doesn't connect the call, but just pushes it back to the GSM network, I asked. Yes.

So what is the advantage of Viber? Apparently it's great when the person you want to call is connected as well.

But I think the person wasn't actually solving the question. I started saying there are other voice over internet applications was well, and I've been using 2 or 3 on my phone for 5 years, and they start making snobby jokes that it can't be a. smartphone as it doesn't have as touch screen, and the subject is soon dead.

I just told my mum this, and she mentioned a friend going on a trip with his grandson. He expected to see a satnav produced instead of a road atlas, but no Grandad I've got an iPad.

It's still a long way to go to understand this iWorld, where a £500 device can seem to have managed to partly lobotomise some of its users.

Bluetooth LE is simply the communication medium. iBeacons are clearly designed in such a way that the phone will know it's an iBeacon and not just any other old Bluetooth LE device. They're also able to tell how far away the phone is from the iBeacon and react accordingly.

Another use for them could be indoor mapping in large shopping centres, train stations, etc.

These WiFi and bluetooth door locks don't pose any problems compared to regular locks as far as keys are concerned, given that if a key can be used as a backup, you can still arrange spares to be left with neighbours or hidden somewhere. I actually read about a door lock that can be unlocked remotely over the internet, so you don't even need to leave a key. Someone can just ring you, say that they're there, and you can unlock the door over the internet from your phone.

Technology used in the right way can really simplify your life, but it can be overwhelming if you try to use everything just because it's there rather than because it's right for you.