I'm really excited about the possibilities that devices like this will bring. Once there is an easy and affordable way to facilitate indoor location we will see many cool things. There are a few players in this space and retail is/should be interested in this.
The hard thing to do as a retail operation is to use this in a way that provides real value. The last thing that I want as a consumer is another interaction on par with SMS messaging. But, if this allowed the retailer to gather information on the consumers wants and needs and provided valuable information back to the consumer that enhanced the shopping experience, it could be amazing.
I think it is smart to start with retail, but this has applications all over the place. I think the price point is extremely important. But once the price comes down and consumers and businesses can afford to purchase many of these, we will see many cool applications. If this was matched up with an easy way to program them, like IFTTT, home adoption would take off. It could really change the face of home automation.
The hard thing to do as a retail operation is to use this in a way that provides real value. The last thing that I want as a consumer is another interaction on par with SMS messaging. But, if this allowed the retailer to gather information on the consumers wants and needs and provided valuable information back to the consumer that enhanced the shopping experience, it could be amazing.
I think it is smart to start with retail, but this has applications all over the place. I think the price point is extremely important. But once the price comes down and consumers and businesses can afford to purchase many of these, we will see many cool applications. If this was matched up with an easy way to program them, like IFTTT, home adoption would take off. It could really change the face of home automation.
In short, I'm excited and have preordered.