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Tag: nearby

  • Google Launches New Android Feature ‘Nearby’

    Google launched a cool… and I think very useful feature to Android today called Nearby. Nearby uses Bluetooth to seek out nearby beacons that are connected to Android apps on your phone. Developers of ecommerce or in-store related apps are going to be staying up late working to incorporate Nearby because of its potential to bring in more sales.

    Nearby was announced back in May:

    Nearby can be used for any app that communicates provides the mobile phone user with real-time data. For instance:

    • New information and multi-media can open in a museums app as a person passes each exhibit. such as when a person at a museum getting further information and media related to the exhibit they are standing in front of.
    • As you walk down the aisle at Kroger’s a Kroger app can offer you app-only deals as you pass by items on the shelf.
    • As you stand in line at the DMV in California it could ask you to feel out certain forms in the app and then direct you to a line number that handles your type of need such as renewing your cars registration.
    • At the car dealership, an app from the dealer could offer you a deal that isn’t on the sticker, possibly timed by how long you stood close to a particular car.

    The Google Android Blog offered some additional examples:

    • Print photos directly from your phone at CVS Pharmacy.
    • Explore historical landmarks at the University of Notre Dame.
    • Download the audio tour when you’re at The Broad in LA.
    • Skip the customs line at select airports with Mobile Passport.
    • Download the United Airlines app for free in-flight entertainment while you wait at the gate, before you board your flight.

    Google says that to use Nearby, just turn on Bluetooth and Location, and they’ll show you a notification if a nearby app or website is available. According to Google Nearby has started rolling out to users as part of the upcoming Google Play Services release and will work on Android 4.4 (KitKat) and above.

    The Google Developers Blog also provided information for developers to incorporated Nearby within Android apps:

    Getting started is simple. First, get some Eddystone Beacons- you can order these from any one of our Eddystone-certified manufacturers. Android devices and and other BLE-equipped smart devices can also be configured to broadcast in the Eddystone Format.

    Second, configure your beacon to point to your desired experience. This can be a mobile web page using the Physical Web, or you can link directly to an experience in your app. For users who don’t have your app, you can either provide a mobile web fallback or request a direct app install.

    Nearby has started rolling out to users as part of the upcoming Google Play Services release and will work on Android devices running 4.4 (KitKat) and above. Check out our developer documentation to get started. To learn more about Nearby Notifications in Android, also check out our I/O 2016 session, starting at 17:10.

    For all the information that developers will need go to the Google Nearby Developer site.

  • Facebook Turns Nearby Feature into an Actual Location Recommendation Tool

    Facebook has just announced a huge revamp of their Nearby feature inside the mobile app that turns it from a not-too-remarkable tracker of friends’ check-ins to an actual attempt at a personalized local recommendation engine.

    Now when you open up Nearby, you’ll see a search bar, a history list, and a bunch of new location categories – restaurants, nightlife, arts, hotels, shopping, etc. Each category has its own subcategories, like Mexican food inside restaurants or movie theaters inside the arts category.

    Facebook is not just listings locations arbitrarily, or based on their global popularity. With Nearby, Facebook is using true social recommendations to find the best places for you based on your friends’ interactions. Let’s say your good friend Jimmy just gave an Indian restaurant a few miles away from you a great rating when he checked-in last night. Well, there’s a good chance that Facebook’s NEarby algorithm would put that location front and center for you.

    “When someone looks for a place, the results that appear in their Nearby list are based on things like their friends’ recommendations, ratings, check-ins, and likes,” says Facebook.

    Once you choose a location, you’ll be presented with Facebook’s redesigned location pages which include friends who’ve been there, hours, a map, star ratings, and reviews.

    After you’ve experienced the location, Facebook wants you to share that experience with your friends through rating and reviewing. In theory, the more people that participate in this way, the better the recommendations will become.

    Facebook encourages businesses to update their pages to include any and all information, including their category so they can be easily found through Facebook’s new Nearby product. Also, now more than ever, businesses need to make sure users are liking, checking into, rating, and sharing their Facebook page so that Facebook knows to recommend them when people are looking for things to do on the go.

    So, Facebook has finally gotten into the local search game in a real and meaningful way. Facebook says that 150 million people visit Pages on a daily basis – so they have a rather impressive amount of like, check-in, and rating data to pull from. This, in theory, could make Facebook Nearby incredibly useful. They say that this is an early build, and “there’s a lot more to do.” But Facebook’s foray into truly personalized location recommendations should make the folks over at Foursquare and Yelp pay attention. Facebook says that the Nearby update should be available later today on iOS and Android.