2013-11-18

Two Interesting Applications

With two Sandwich videos come two interesting new applications: Coin and Knock. Both applications were announced last week and I have been holding onto the videos to share together because they both communicate the future possibilities of Bluetooth LE, not to mention the future of application integration.

Coin

Coin is an unassuming card that connects all of your various cards into a single piece of technology. To me, it shows the next logical step to integrate our digital world, where we can save our credit cards on our favorite websites for future use, to our physical world, where we have to carry around bulky wallets and bags to insure that we have every card with us, whether it be a credit, debit, or the more mundane rewards and gift cards. I'm very interested in this tech, although I have some worries about security, reliability, and vendor stupidity, some of which is discussed in the well-written "The Coin's Uphill Battle" by Brett Kelly. Ben Brooks also brings up some good points in his write-up, "Use One Coin for All of Your Cards". With all this in mind, however, I still think the Coin is going to solve a problem that a lot of people have, which is a good starting point for any successful technology.

Knock

Knock is another unassuming technology that allows someone with an iPhone to log into their Apple computer by simply knocking on their phone, see the coy video below for more information. Knock is one of those beautiful technologies that you wish was invented years ago, but was not possible until now due to the lack of a low-power technology to connect the two devices. The mythic technology now known as iWatch was once dreamed to be an identity module that might allow this type integration with the Mac. Sit down at a computer while wearing an iWatch and you are automatically logged in and ready to work, with the computer knowing your preferences, passwords, credit cards, etc. This type integration is not what Knock does, but Knock is a step in the right direction for a future where such integration is possible. In addition, with such a technology now on the market, it seems all the more possible (and plausible) that Apple could do something similar with the iWatch or future iterations of such a device. Either way, I am looking forward to seeing what other technologies can be born based on these two interesting applications.