By Graham K. Rogers

Yesterday I put out an article on the use and potential of the iBeacon. The item was also published in yesterday's Bangkok Post, Life. I am a bit ahead of the curve here as although the iBeacon technology was first mentioned by Apple at the June WWDC (World Wide Developers' Conference) and some deployments of the technology have already been rolled out in the USA.

As far as I can tell, there are none here in Thailand as yet. I have wandered round a couple of the major malls here with the BLExplr app active. The only iBeacon identified was the Estimote one that I had forgotten to take out of my backpack. Currently, there are not that many iBeacon deployments anywhere in the World for that matter.

This week sees DX3, Canada's marketing and advertising retail conference trade show, which is being held at the Toronto Metro Conference Center. LXR & Co have created a Mobile Innovation Store where a number of innovators are demonstrating their products, including Estimote, the maker of the iBeacon I recently looked at.

Jordan Kahn of 9to5 Mac is in Toronto this week and he had a hands-on with the iBeacon experience in the Mobile Innovation Store. The article also includes a video that demonstrates part of the iBeacon experience (as well as other products).

He also links to ThirdShelf, a developer whose service allows retailers to create branded mobile apps and loyalty programs for their businesses. The link asks users to register and more information will be sent later. An immediate email asked me to provide some more details of my needs.

Also looking at the DX3 Mobile Innovation Store is Darrell Etherington on TechCrunch with similar information to Jordan Kahn. Instead of a video, there is a slideshow with this article.

At this stage, iBeacon deployment is in the early stages and I would not expect to see a great rush for a few months. For any retailers (or others - hospitals, stadiums/stadia, universities), now is the time to begin examining the potential and the technology.

See also:

• Hands-on with the iPhone & iBeacon-powered future of shopping (Jordan Kahn - 9to5 Mac)
• A Look At The iBeacon Store Of The Future With Retail Startup Thirdshelf (Darrell Etherington - TechCrunch)
• The iBeacon and Mobile Devices - Coming Soon to a Store Near You - Bangkok Post, Life
• Finding iBeacons: 5 Apps for Tracking the Devices
• Estimote iBeacons: Cutting one Open to Take a Look Inside
• Andy Cavallini's iBeacons Bible 1.0
• TechCrunch articles on iBeacon
• Business Insider, Tony Danova, "BEACONS: What They Are, How They Work, And Why Apple's iBeacon Technology Is Ahead Of The Pack
• Wired, Kyle Vanhemert, 4 Reasons Why Apple's iBeacon is About to Disrupt Interaction Design
• Estimote

Graham K. Rogers teaches at the Faculty of Engineering, Mahidol University in Thailand where he is also Assistant Dean. He wrote in the Bangkok Post, Database supplement on IT subjects. For the last seven years of Database he wrote a column on Apple and Macs.