

Apple Store App knows when you walk into an Apple Store - FrancescoRizzi
http://thenextweb.com/apple/2011/10/20/apple-makes-magic-happen-when-you-walk-into-its-store/
Edit: thanks for the comments. I fixed the story title. I still think it's pretty 'sweet' (but not quite as 'magic' as the source title seemed to hint), but this is indeed app-specific, rather than iOS.
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Delmania
Well, I will get down voted for this, but it's hardly magic, nor is it
something entirely new. Provided wifi is turned on, the Nook Color will
automatically log into the network located within a Barnes and Nobles store,
and the store app there will gain additional functionality, like the ability
to access all of B&N ebooks for free. Still, this seems like a good idea for
device manufacturers.

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mbesto
It's not entirely something new but its just one more thing that Apple is
actively doing to increase customer awareness. A better user experience =
success. Can you imagine walking into a Best Buy, or an IKEA and getting the
same type of service. Think of the possibilities...

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mrspeaker
Very interesting, but I don't think it's cause for editorializing in the
title. If we find it sweet, then we'll think "sweet" all by ourselves.

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MartinodF
Also, the title is misleading for another reason. iOS doesn't "know when you
walk into an Apple Store", you have to manually open the app, which removes
most of the "wow" factor IMHO.

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smiler
Exactly. I can't believe the author expreses surprise that it knows which
Apple Store you're in!

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rvschuilenburg
It's not iOS that knows, it's the App. That only happens when you have the app
open.

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technoslut
If true, then that's a little disappointing. Eventually all mobile devices
will do this regardless if the app is open or not.

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daliusd
I might sound paranoid but some people might treat it illegal if something
likes this happens if app is not open.

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technoslut
It would have to be with the expressed permission of the user and not on by
default. If it were on by default, the features would have to be extremely
limited so as to protect user privacy. That said, there will be further issues
down the road that will have to be figured out such as the gathering of
location data.

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throwaway64
location data is already freely gathered from pretty much every smartphone

[https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Skyhook_Wirel...](https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Skyhook_Wireless)

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rauljara
[Even though this app apparently doesn't open itself automatically] it's
occurred to me before that there's a lot of potential for apps/web apps that
do run automatically (after asking for permission, of course) when you get
onto to a business's wifi. Menu's in restaurants, searchable maps in big
department stores, bar code scanning apps for products (of course, with
reviews), etc. etc. etc.

-edited to add the stuff that's in brackets

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mikeash
I can see how this works in this particular case, with only Apple stores and
while running a special app, but in the general case, how will they know that
you're in their store and not the one next to them?

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adamjernst
A clever solution used by e.g. Shopkick is to play a very high-pitched sound
of a certain frequency on the store sound system and pick that up with the
device microphone.

I don't know if Apple is using this here. I bet they're instead identifying it
by store Wi-Fi, since Apple stores all have that already. But for stores
without Wi-Fi, the sound system trick works well since all stores have sound
systems already.

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mikeash
I doubt that either the store sound systems or the phone's microphones perform
well at frequencies above the audible, though, so it may not be quite the
drop-in solution that it appears to be at first.

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dalore
I bet apple knows when you walk into an app store from your mac on your wifi.
I would reason they are tracking that like any other analytical data.

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tomlin
I've been dying for something like this - but in stores like Walmart.
Sometimes, it's not enough to know where "housewares" is, but where a specific
product might be.

I know this goes a bit beyond what Apple is doing here, but I think these
types of apps are coming and hopefully sooner.

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mjbellantoni
I wonder if phones will ever have RFID readers in them? Then I could really
see this sort of thing (and more) happening.

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audeyisaacs
I believe some phones with NFC hardware are already able to read 13.45Mhz ISO
14443 and MiFare cards.

EDIT: beat by 2 minutes...

<http://www.nfc.cc/technology/nfc-tag-types>

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eddieplan9
It would be really interesting to have similar features in find-me-a-
restaurant kind of apps: help me find a restaurant, guide me to the place,
then show me a customized panel to greet me, display the menu, and even allow
me to order from my iPhone directly.

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phughes
This is apparently a huge surprise to the people who've never seen the apps'
page in the App Store.

<http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/apple-store/id375380948?mt=8>

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raheemm
You know what this is going to mean right? All stores are going to launch apps
like this.

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middus
At first glance, the difference "get help" vs "get support" is very confusing.

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aforty
Didn't they start doing this about 6 months ago?

