Taking the concept of checkins from the “top layer” of GPS-based location checkins to “lower layer” check-ins of products —- enabling still more opportunities for loyalty points, coupons, etc. — is pretty logical. The guys at Booyah in Palo Alto are doing it via barcodes which is sort of making lemonade when you’ve got lemons … so hats off to them for taking the lead. Longer term, however, we’ll see DASH7 enabled phones (or DASH7 enabled loyalty cards) that make this process much faster and simpler —- invoking a barcode reading application, “taking” the picture of the barcode, processing, and completing the transaction are not only too cumbersome and time consuming, but only one person can “read” the barcode at a time … making “check-ins” of events and other products difficult when there’s a crowd.
So the hierarchy of “check-ins” begins with places, but as we dive deeper we begin checking in with things, and ultimately, people. Solving for the “check-in” problem (i.e. no one is happy with the current state of actively invoking a check-in as it is designed today) is one of the long-term strengths of DASH7 — background check-ins, checking in with indoor locations that GPS can’t reach, checking in with things and people that don’t have their own GPS coordinates, checking in with things that are moving, checking in with things that run on batteries, and more. DASH7 Mode 2.0, which we announced last week, makes this even easier to do and if you haven’t check it out, I strongly recommend it for those looking at location based services.
