iBeacons – A changing face of retail

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A week before we have talked about the iBeacon technology and have unfolded many questions about it. Earlier, while much of the focus was on what are iBeacons? How does it work etc etc, Today, we will explore the other side of it which we think you will love. We all love shopping; so what if you receive valuable information about an on going sale, any offer, information about what you are looking for and that to just when you enter a store, Isn’t it amazing and helpful, You don’t have to look and search for offers, coupons, or you no longer have to find your way for any specific store or mall, because now iBeacon will do all this for you.

Lets have a look that how this small coin sized and low cost device has made all the retailers to focus on itself;

  • Promotions: In the right place and at the right time retailers can send customized notifications about different offers, coupons or personalized loyalty programs based on the location, time and purchase history of the shoppers.
  • Monitoring: Retailers can monitor your shopping behaviour and can send information prior to purchase. They can do so by tracking down your visits, your path ways, where you stay longer, how long you stay infront of specific display etc. Then the system can provide information like reviews about the product, other style and colour and other relevant information. Wow, I believe this will make shopping so easy and stressless.
  • Navigation: Finding your way around a shopping mall can be a challenge for you, If it is, then you don’t have to worry since iBeacon can be of much help, you can track down your way through map.

Since we have been talking about the tracking thing, some of you may feel that these notifications are obtrusive and create a feeling of being spied. In such a case you don’t have to fret since it is a one way process. iBeacons can send signals but can not receive any information. Moreover, receiving these information is something which can not happen without your wish. For that you have to download this app, have to turn your bluetooth and location services on.

Infact some of the retailers have already started using it and customers are exploring their interest through it. Its not an another technology hype but its a change, change to your experience. We still have many sectors to unravel and evaluate the usage of iBeacons in them for that I would say – Stay tuned, we will bring it soon!!

Its iBeacon

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I love technology, so we all do? Don’t you? I always look around to know about more technologies, trends, updates etc. But this time I am unaware of something, something which is raising questions in me. I curiously looked over the internet, read many articles, but I was still skeptical about this, and So I looked for people who can open my mind and can answer my questions. Questions about iBeacons, Yes, Here I am talking about iBeacons.

What are iBeacons, How does it actually works?

iBeacons are relatively small and low cost BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) Devices that can be placed anywhere, on a wall, table or any flat surface.They use Bluetooth 4.0 – a new version of Bluetooth built in many smartphones like iPhones from Apple 4S upwards, Samsung Galaxy S III etc most of all they are not required to be paired up.

Ok so how does it works and impact the customer experience, Lets see, just like a lighthouse emits light, iBeacons radiate Signals, When you enter in a store, iBeacon sends invisible and soundless signals to your smartphones.These signals catch information from local database or cloud storage and notify people using smartphone about different discounts, product information, events,and other deals running in the store. And if you are worried about its battery then you don’t have to be because it has a battery life of almost 5 years.

So for now, a lot has been clear about iBeacons and how it is productive for retailers and customers.
Ok, but I still have one question that is, Since iBeacon is based on the already existing technology called NFC (Near Field Communication). How it is different from NFC?

Lets See, while using NFC users have to tap their devices on NFC tag to receive content whereas with iBeacons the information is pushed directly to the smartphones, provided they have the brand’s app installed.

Secondly, NFC require bank cooperation or credit card companies to make the transactions whereas iBeacon just require an Apple account.

Thirdly, NFC has a small range whereas the range of iBeacon is up to 50 metres without any lack of precision.

I had my answers now, about this new and wonderful device and have realised that this small device has a great potential to change your shopping experience.

Dex has been working with iBeacon devices to develop apps that will provide unmatched experience to customers and we are excited to explore the potential that this small device hold for retail industry.

Real Time Revolution With Taxi Apps

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Those who ever grumbled about taxi and its services, the waiting time, the cost, etc, forget it.
Ignore standing on the bollard, whining for those taxi rides which never appear. Forget standing on empty streets waiting for some taxi to get back to your home on those rainy nights. For you, Uber has brought the solution and helped you to chuck the disappointment with its Uber app on your smartphone. Wherever, whenever you want, the driver will come to you and will offer a smooth and convenient service back to your door. Just as convenient as travelling in your own car.

Launched in San Francisco in 2010, it initially enabled its users to order taxi rides via mobile app, a smart car to get them wherever they want. And yes, not to forget the payment which is done via credit card, wherein the driver keeps somewhere around 70%-80% of the fare and the remainder is for Uber.

Indeed!!! Indeed they brought the revolution in the ‘Taxi Industry’. These apps have undoubtedly increased the size of the market for taxi and car services. Taxi apps have become a rising topic in tech industry, not only among users, but among investors and entrepreneurs also. Companies have come up with taxi apps like ‘Hailo, Lyft, Side.cr’ etc.

They have built a remarkable momentum for ordering rides in the market with such apps and made the lives easier in terms of ‘connectivity, secure payment, reaching out to your closest drivers without any delay, so and so forth’. They have also created the first on demand, real time delivery platform.

Following Uber, Hailo, Lyft and Side.cr there are other apps like TruTaxi which seems to be a promising taxi app. Entrepreneurs are coming up with more taxi apps to embrace this revolution which was once brought by Uber.

Apple phones could be bigger in the future… per WSJ

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Ok so first they were going longer and now, they choose to make it larger? , Thank you Apple for paying attention to the width, but it takes more than just the dimensions to become like Android!

Though it’s a word from the grapevine that Apple intends to make larger phones, the information is being sourced from WSJ report which states that Apple iPhone will be coming out with larger screens.

It is said that one iPhone shall have a 4.5 inch display and another will sport a 5 inch display, which would be of the same size as Galaxy SIII and SIV respectively.

Apple iPhone started with a 3.5 inch display, it then graduated to 4 inch in iPhone 5. Apple has always been forced to play along with Android in offering larger screens, but with Apple stuck with a smaller display, Android manufacturers had various sizes to play with. The apparent reason for Apple to play with this idea of increasing the display size could be due to the ‘love for large displays’ by Asian customers.

Quick Updates for Apple iOS 7.1 – Developer’s Exclusive!

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As if we were done tasting the Apple iOS7, Apple has seeded the new iOS7.1, developer version.
18th Nov 2013, Monday was when Apple released it for developers only, which as per the geeks is supposed to be tackling a lot of glitches present in the iOS7.

The version currently present in the market is the 7.0.4, which was released recently in order to fix the face time bug.

Apple is updating the revolutionary OS quite frequently, as observed by the industry, with the latest release specifically meant for developers, Apple claims to have sorted quite a many issues, which were earlier being troublesome to developers. The hiccups that have been resolved are

• Bluetooth Connectivity.
• CF Network.
• Notes.
• Core Text.
• Crash Logs.
• GL Kit.
• UI Kit.
• High Precision Timers.
• iTunes Match.
• Multi peer Connect.

With Apple’s quick updates, one can understand the company’s being forced to become competitive by getting quick fixes even before people could gulp the whole iOS7 update. Buck up Android! As for now the score for Apple to Android is 2-1.Apple

Apple’s Remote App gets an aesthetics job!

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The new Apple’s Remote App has undergone a lot of change in terms of aesthetics, with thin lines, translucent elements and a dominating monochromatic interface, it is to quite an extent aping the iOS7’s new design.

Though this update is reflecting more on the iPhone than the iPad, you can be sure that a separate release for the iPAD must be following through.

With Aesthetics going through a major change in this app, the functionality of the app seems to be unchanged with the same features of browsing the iTunes library on any MAC or PC connected to your network along with managing your Up Next Queue or model and use the app like a remote or a keyboard for the Apple TV.

One new feature that marks its entry into the new update is the ‘Genius Shuffle option’ which was introduced in the iTunes 11.1 version. In remote it is available through the Up Next menu.

iTunes Radio doesn’t seem to be making new splashes, as the old radio features is still available.

With Apple putting apps through the knife to get in tune with the new iOS7, people who were expecting more of non-music controls for their Apple TV are surely getting disappointed and should wait for Apple’s next update.

Don’t text while you drive, Heaven can wait!

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In a recent contest Command X at American Institute of Graphic Arts design conference, Joey Cofone won the first place for his idea of a ‘Car mode’ being built in to the new iOS7, for app idea on the theme don’t text while you drive. The theme of the contest was to get a design which could stop people from texting while driving and Cofone bagged the premier position. The design which is still to be worked upon would have features like

  • Enforcing the mode would prohibit the user to view and send text messages.
  • Automatic messages would also be sent to people texting the user while the mode is active.

Also No text message notifications will be entertained during the mode.However, GPS and hands free calling would still be active.

Cofone talked about his philosophy behind the idea which was “people can’t resist texting back”, hence came up with this unique concept.

He also said “many people die every year while texting enroute” and he plans that if incase Apple decides to integrate this concept, he would ask them to tie up with insurance companies who can analyze safe drivers using this concept and reward them accordingly!

iPhone 5S Sales take a leverage over iPhone 5C

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Selling an iPhone to someone isn’t much of a deal, selling two isn’t one too, so in short selling iPhone doesn’t really make the sales team sweat, but with two iPhone kins being sold together one needs to put in an effort or either one takes a hit, and that is what is happening with iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C both available in the market. Apple’s marketing strategy regarding the duo has probably gone for a toss with the iPhone 5S taking leverage over 5C, though it wouldn’t take much thought to understand what Apple wanted to do by introducing two almost similar products with a major price difference. The move could have been based on some of the following aspects, one Apple wanted to increase its market share in turn giving everybody an opportunity to get their hands on an iPhone.

The sales figures have caused a whammy for the company. Looking at the figures one can clearly state that the 5S outsells the 5C by almost twice the margin. With 5S and 5C standing at 64% & 27% respectively by the end of September 2013. The aftermath of the even caused a major slash in orders for Pegatron under 20% and about one third for Foxconn.

Apple’s current marketing methods are intriguing in manner of a shift in focus. With a cheaper price you can definitely afford reach ability but what speaking strictly from a business perspective you have to analyse and know the competition with not only others but also the ones produced in-house.

iPad Air: A new benchmark that doesn’t weigh you down!

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If you blind fold a person and give him something to hold, the first noticeable point is the weight, I mean the touch of the surface and everything is always there, but it’s how heavy the thing (it’s kinda to do with gravity I guess) is what pops first to a person’s mind, I wonder what would happen if that thing was the new Apple iPad –Air, Air? Yes that is what they want us to call it.

Losing almost 33% of it’s predecessors flab, the iPad is all set to give an awesome experience with almost no strain on hands. Also this would be the first time that an iPad can be held in just one hand. Besides the weight it’s also 20% slimmer but not something you notice unless you make an effort.

So we get it! The new iPad has lost weight and is also slimmer, what else?

No disappointments there as well, with the screen size of 9.7 inches and a Resolution of 2048 x 1536 it packs quite a punch!

From the processor point of view it would offer an A7 chip with 64 bit architecture along with a M7 motion co-processor enabling those apps to open and work almost instantly.

With a decent Battery life of 10 Hrs in terms of Video Playback it can engage you for the better part of the day.
Before we forget there is yet another thing that one doesn’t really notice unless it happens in the new iPad Air is when you put your thumb on the edge of the screen, the device is intelligent enough to know that you are just resting it and not wanting to flip the page.

Though many features that Apple highlights are still to stand the test of user experience post it’s launch on 1st November 2013 but one thing we can vouch safe is that with Apple creating the this product, they would have to try real hard to better this one!

iOS 7 Demystified!

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With expectations galore, one can only focus to perform and when that someone is Apple you know you are getting something more than just performance, besides bringing true craftsmanship in their products, Apple’s surge has always been on one constant and that is innovation. Though many in the industry try their hand at the age old concept of innovation, but then it is up to companies like Apple to simplify innovation and bring it to the user in a manner which seems natural and may get the user intrigued. With that prelude we take a dig in Apple’s latest innovation(yes we are calling it that) iOS7. iOS7 which is available to be downloaded and used on various Apple’s devices such as iPads, iPhones and iPods worldwide is offering more than just a better UI (I mean Apple’s UI has always been an icing on the cake)

I am an end user, I like Apple products, how? does iOS 7 make sense to me?

iOS 7 has a lot to offer when it comes to efficient processor performance alongside the capabilities of powerful multitasking, which if we relate technologically would mean now apps are far more efficient and can still perform in the background while they are not active, without hampering the overall performance of the system.

The new version would provide support for all the major social networks, so you know what’s keeping you busy!

The latest update would have a special place for enhanced iCloud facilities such as AirDrop, which would let you share docs with other devices. An awesome control over the Graphical interface and enhanced OpenGL functionality gives you a better graphics rendering experience.

Talking about Graphics there is yet another much awaited nuance which needs special mentioning the ‘UI’, which has seen a drastic change with the new release, with this update it surely does seem that Apple has made its Graphic designers work hard and give an amazing experience for the average Joe. Using elements of blur, transparency and a special adding of layers for giving that effect of depth lends a lot to the looks of the new operating system. The contemporary and digitally authentic look is surely going to get the designers a pat on their backs.

Hi, I am Mr Creative App maker and I wish to know what is in store?

Apple has carefully put a thought into for you guys, the company has seriously encouraged you to let you become more proactive and productive and let your creative juice do the talking through your apps.

By offering over 1500 new APIs to work with Apple would suggest you should do some rework on your perspective on designing apps for various iOS kins.

It also reveals peer to peer SDK which would let you setup up something exclusive in terms of frameworks to provide ease to end users to share data on Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and P2P.

Apple’s stress on major Social media networking sites as talked about earlier gives not only Users but also has opportunities related to app developers and mobile marketers.

Steve Jobs was a very creative person, I am sure if Steve is looking from up there, I am sure he knows his legacy is being taken good care of.

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