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Target Field's iBeacon will reach out to Twins fans' iPhones [Pioneer Press, St. Paul, Minn. :: ](Saint Paul Pioneer Press (MN) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) April 05--If you're a iPhone-toting Minnesota Twins fan, you might be in the habit of firing up the MLB At Bat app as you enter Target Field, and using that app's check-in feature to let it know you're there. This season, it will already know. Those using MLB At Bat on newer Apple iPhones devices will get checked in automatically as they arrive at one of the Twins stadium's entrances -- for Monday's season opener, and for all games thereafter -- if everything works as it should. An emerging Apple technology -- "iBeacon" -- is making this possible. The wireless technology consists, in part, of tiny transmitters installed inconspicuously at all of the stadium's entrances. Those beacons will continually announce their presence ... and only the MLB At Bat app installed on iPhones will understand their faint signals. Those transmitters will cry out, essentially, "Check in! Check in!" And the app on hundreds or thousands of fans' iPhones will obey. (The version of the app on Android phones will not, because, for now, iBeacon is incompatible with such non-Apple devices.) The At Bat app provides features that enhance a fan's enjoyment of the game, such as news, stats and video. Checking in while at the ballpark provides additional features. Major League Baseball installed iBeacon at 20 of its 30 stadiums before the baseball season. Another six ballparks will get the technology in the coming weeks. Over time, baseball fans will derive more and more benefit from the wireless technology. Ballpark check-ins will make them eligible for all manner of coupons and offers, as well as for prize drawings. The Twins will be holding such drawings immediately. If fans are near a ballpark's points of interest, such as the big golden glove in Target Field's plaza, they'll receive information about such features. If they are inside stadium stores, they would be told about specials there (but those outside the stores wouldn't be pestered in this way). Even those who have not arrived at Target Field might soon benefit from iBeacon. As they exit light-rail trains in downtown Minneapolis, the MLB At Bat app might pull up their tickets on their iPhone screens so accessing the ballpark goes more smoothly. New York-based Major League Baseball has demonstrated all these features -- and says more iBeacon features are on deck. "The All-Star Game at Target Field in July will be a great opportunity for us to showcase some new stuff," said Adam Ritter, Major League Baseball senior vice president of wireless. "So stay tuned." The iBeacon upgrade at Target Field is important because Twins fans are becoming more tech-savvy and expect increasingly sophisticated amenities, said Chris Iles, the team's director of corporate and digital communications. "They will no longer have to check in manually (with the MLB At Bat app) to win prizes," Iles said. Wi-Fi is another crucial tech offering, he noted. Wireless access is vital because ballpark attendees are continually on their smartphones -- and, in many cases, their tablets -- to check baseball statistics, watch instant-replay videos and share their experiences via social media. Yet, until now, Target Field's Wi-Fi network could only accommodate about a fourth of those in the stadium at one time. An upgrade this year should allow practically every fan to log on to the ballpark's vast wireless network at the same time, Iles said. Apple has made a big deal about iBeacon, which harnesses a variant of the Bluetooth wireless technology that has long been available to owners of smartphone headsets, desktop-computer peripherals and other gadgets. Visitors to Apple's retail stores, including five in the Twin Cities, can see iBeacon in action. When they approach certain sections of the stores, for instance, they might prompted on their iPhones to read about discounts relevant to products at that location. They might also be nudged via iBeacon to check their iPhone-upgrade eligibility, or to summon help by tapping a "help" button on their handset screens. As at Target Field, Apple Store visitors must have the right kind of app installed on their iPhones -- the Apple Store app, in this case -- in order to avail themselves of these iBeacon features. The iBeacon technology has sometimes been described as a kind of "indoor GPS" because it is so location-aware and can pinpoint a phone-app user's location with great precision. That's how staffers at Macy's, which is also using iBeacon, might locate a visitor in need of help in a packed store. The wireless technology has fired the imagination of Twin Cities tech experts at Space150, The Nerdery and Weber Shandwick, all of which have experimented with it in recent months. Find Julio Ojeda-Zapata at ojezap.com. ___ (c)2014 the Pioneer Press (St. Paul, Minn.) Visit the Pioneer Press (St. Paul, Minn.) at www.twincities.com Distributed by MCT Information Services |