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back to article Google joins Bluetooth snoop pals with iBeacon rival tech Eddystone

Google has jumped on the Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) beacon bandwagon with a set of open standards and software interfaces to give Apple's iBeacon a run for its money. Apple rolled out iBeacon in 2013, and has been pushing it as a way for companies to do things like tracking potential customers' movements as they wander around …

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  1. x 7

    I knew there was a reason for disabling bluetooth.........now I know why

    as to the name, if its pinched from a lighthouse I think you'll find its from the most famous of them all - see http://www.trinityhouse.co.uk/lighthouses/lighthouse_list/eddystone.html

    the first lighthouse built in the open sea

    not some colonial effort which pinched the name of a historic British piece of engineering

    9 0 Reply
    1. iLuddite
      Reply Icon

      Seeing as this will shoot holes in privacy, it must be named after the Eddystone rifle. I suggest you let the colonials pinch the name on this one, as it will likely be a bad word before long. Yes, the rifle was pinched also.

      2 0 Reply
  2. Voland's right hand Silver badge

    Creepier and creepier

    Used to be curiouser and curiouser... Now it is creepier and creepier...

    2 1 Reply
  3. elDog

    So now they all want to see when your eyeballs look at the screen

    Privacy == privy

    Google continues to collect photos from your phone even after you've removed the app.

    Your phone continues to report your position even when it is off.

    Your voice may be recorded and sent to mother even if you didn't ask for it.

    Every glance, every touch, every sound - all recorded for posterity (and analysis)

    Do YOU know what your phone is doing tonight?

    2 0 Reply
    1. TheProf
      Reply Icon
      Devil

      Re: So now they all want to see when your eyeballs look at the screen

      "Your phone continues to report your position even when it is off."

      Now that is some scary tech. And I even pulled the battery out.

      0 0 Reply
  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Needs Android 4.3, not Android 2.3

    Play Services 7.8 might run on 2.3, but beacons require BLE, which requires Android 4.3 - and the hardware has to support it as well.

    2 0 Reply
  5. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Mmm

    I have a phone I bought for £12 new, unlocked, a Samsung something-or-other. It is tiny, and lasts 3 weeks on one charge. And it makes voice style phone calls, that is all. It does have a built in calculator, and a contact list. I do not find it an inconvenience that my telephone only makes telephone calls, and in the event that I wish to add earphones, I must buy a suitable set and plug them in.

    You see, I prefer it that only GCHQ can track me using my phone.

    Maybe surveillance excesses mean it's time to get back to the unix way of telephony.

    1 1 Reply
    1. The last doughnut
      Reply Icon

      Re: Mmm

      Hm yeah but smartphones are just brilliant

      0 0 Reply
      1. x 7
        Reply Icon

        Re: Mmm

        brilliant for what?

        Please explain in 100 words

        0 0 Reply

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