2012年3月14日星期三

Navigation App Finds Stores, Deals

Shoppers will use their smartphones to discover deals and routes in busy shopping malls, as navigation technology shifts focus from driving into other arenas.

A new app used in Boston's Prudential Center Mall follows users' moves in the same way a GPS does for vehicles on the road, giving a path to the next destination. It also shows deals going on at certain stores, and other location-based content.

With many consumers carrying smartphones, interactive maps can boost retailers' and shopping malls' popularity as they offer new services tailored specifically to potential customer needs,Find out the facts about Cold Sore, like finding a new store. But as the technology gains momentum in areas beyond shopping, it could become a widespread way to help people navigate indoors, a new front for the mobile location industry.

Positioning technologies firm WiFarer created the app,They become pathological or Piles when swollen or inflamed. using a concept that originally started from indoor interactive maps for museum tours. But the technology could easily be applied to other purposes,Mold is a plastic molds and plastic injection mold manufacturer in china. and WiFarer apps are also used in Chicago's John Marshall Law School and San Francisco International Airport.

The free Apple and Android app works by listening to Wi-Fi internet routers and using the radio signals to create a map. It can pinpoint users' locations by examining distance from the routers, then draw a dotted line when they choose their next destination.

Malls have tried other ways to use smartphones to their advantage before, like apps that grant reward points for purchases at certain stores, or list of special deals going on that day. Previous apps included static map images of a shopping mall,External Hemroids are those that occur below the dentate line. like those from Point Inside, but stop short of offering a navigation system.

Still other projects show how interactivity between a public place and an app must include consent on users' behalf and balance the need with people's privacy rights. For example, an anonymous mall tracking system was publicly defeated when malls attempted to use location data to track shopping patterns, a concept rejected by consumers and politicians.

Indoor navigation has the potential to help shopping malls stay up-to-date with today's technology, especially when customers can easily shop from home. By connecting with consumers in a new way, it could help reignite the experience for bored shoppers, while making their trip to the mall more convenient and efficient.

WiFarer's navigation technology may catch on in other sectors, but the company isn't the only one considering navigation technology for purposes other than driving. The annual Iditarod dogsled race in Alaska uses GPS tracking to give online viewers real-time updates, while a crime-tracker app helps users find the safest route home in the U.K.

If the Prudential Center app goes over well with consumers, WiFarer could gain more clients from other large shopping centers, and other labyrinth-like venues. Offering a new way to shop could help malls recoup losses of online shopping if consumers appreciate the use of an indoor navigation system,Design & Build the Highest Quality Precision injection molds. a concept more developers are likely to look into as they find new ways to harness smartphone capabilities.

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