Think&Go extends its NFC-Screen to iPhone, NFC cards, and passports
Shoppers will soon be able to use their smartphones to make purchases directly from digital signage videos in the street, as proximity solutions start up Think&Go is introducing its next generation near field communications (NFC)-iBeacon Connected Screen at Mobile World Congress today.
Think&Go has enhanced the capacity of its Connected Screen, launched one year ago and awarded seven major international awards in 2013, to include multi-point NFC readers and connected Apple iBeacon Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE, or Bluetooth Smart) modules.
Connected Screen allows users to interact with images at the place where they are displayed using contactless cards and NFC smartphones. For example, by placing a card on a product shown in a video, a user could pick up the details of that product.
The type of interactions include picking up coupons, buying products, grabbing the contact details of a restaurant, automatically sending a request for information by email, sending a delivery address for purchases, or sending a ID to access a loyalty account.
The use of iBeacon and BLE modules create potential for additional interactions based the user's distance from the screen and the content currently displayed.
Taking advantage of the multi-point NFC Readers and Connected iBeacon BLE, this product interacts with the widest range of connected objects, including NFC-phones, iPhones, NFC cards for payment or transport, NFC loyalty cards, and even passports.
In addition to the NFC-iBeacon Connected Screen, Think&Go includes a full Drive-to-Store platform that allows retailers to upload multiple offers, such as coupons, tickets, and reservations, that will be distributed by the screen following criteria such as location, timing, day of the week, or weather.
'This next gen NFC-iBeacon Connected Screen is opening a revolution in digital signage, big time,' added Tim Baker, marketing director at Think&Go. 'It opens the way to impulse buying using phones or cards, meaning that digital signage will move from pay-for-time to a results driven pay-per-click business model.'
