????智能手機還能干什么？向常來的老顧客發一條歡迎短信，在夏季涼鞋上架前告訴顧客冬靴正在清倉打折，或者在球賽開球前告訴場外的觀眾趕緊持票進場。

????自智能手機進入千家萬戶以來，市場營銷專家們一直在幻想諸如此類的情境，也就是基于特定地理位置的應用。但此前一直橫亙著很大的技術障礙：GPS和Wi-Fi網絡在定位某個人的確切位置時表現得并不是非?？煽浚绕涫窃诙鄬拥馁徫镏行幕蚴求w育場這種地方。

????隨著去年年底蘋果iBeacon技術的橫空出世，以及這類技術在零售店的成功應用，這種技術及其能在正確的時間、正確的地點向正確的人廣播消息的能力再次點燃了很多人的興趣。包括梅西百貨（Macy's）、美國鷹牌服飾（American Eagle Outfitters）、全美職棒大聯盟（Major League Baseball）和全美橄欖球聯盟（National Football League）在內的許多大商家、大機構都在積極測試這項技術。

????邁阿密海豚橄欖球隊（Miami Dolphins）副總裁、信息總監特瑞?霍華德說：“我們需要更深入的洞察來理解我們的球迷和會員，但前提是他們愿意分享這些信息。這項技術使我們能在球迷允許的條件下理解他們的行為，因此對我們具有轉折性的意義。”

????簡單來說，iBeacon是一種通過低能耗藍牙技術傳遞信息的方式。這種技術的早期模式是使用一種專門的、靠電池驅動的信號發射器，當用戶的智能手機進入信號發射器的探測范圍之內時，就會觸發一條歡迎信息。（僅限于用戶手機的藍牙和地理位置服務在打開狀態下。）如果接收者感興趣并選擇加入，他就會下載一個移動應用，自動接收來自基于周邊地理位置的購物、娛樂、會展等信息——不管他們身在哪里。iPhone4S以及第三代iPad以后的各款蘋果設備理論上來講都可以收發這些信息——也就是大約2億部設備。

????高通公司（Qualcomm's）Gimbal技術的產品管理總監凱文?亨特說：“出于對數碼技術的直覺，我們喜歡討論這項技術。我們提供了圍繞地理位置和精確性的技術環境，使這項技術變得更具準確性和關聯性?！边~阿密海豚隊試驗的就是由高通推出的向蘋果叫板的Gimbal技術。

????邁阿密海豚隊在高通的支持下，在2013賽季的最后兩場主場比賽中測試了22個iBeacon的使用案例。它把50個發射器安裝在陽光生活體育館里，同時它的市場團隊在場館里安裝了一批可回收的視頻卡（其中的一個，只要有球迷第一次走過名人堂球星丹?馬里奧的雕像，就會被觸發），告訴他們哪個貨攤前面排的隊最短，而且還會提供小吃和飲料的優惠券。

????Welcome a frequent customer with a personal message. Offer an in-store deal on excess boot inventory before summer sandals hit the shelves. Remind tailgating season ticketholders to head to their seats before kick-off.

????Ever since smartphones became virtually ubiquitous, marketers have fantasized about mobile engagement scenarios like these, specific to a certain location. The biggest obstacle has been technical: GPS positioning satellites and Wi-Fi wireless networks aren't reliable when it comes to pinpointing an individual's whereabouts, especially indoors in multi-floor shopping malls or sports arenas.

????But the emergence of Apple's iBeacon late last year -- and the very visible use of the technology in U.S. retail stores to guide shoppers and even help them complete purchases -- has rekindled interest in systems that can broadcast messages to the right person, in the right place, and at the right time. High-profile retailers such as Macy's and American Eagle Outfitters, along with Major League Baseball and the National Football League, are actively testing them.

????"As much as we try to understand our fans and members, we need more insight, provided they are willing to share it," says Tery Howard, senior vice president and chief technology officer for the Miami Dolphins football team, explaining her organization's interest. "This technology could be transformational for us in allowing us to understand behavior at the pace that the fans allow us to."

????In simple terms, iBeacon is a way of sending messages using a Bluetooth Low Energy connection. Early installations use specialized, battery-operated transmitters that detect when someone using an enabled smartphone is nearby and trigger a "welcome" greeting. (This only works if the phone's Bluetooth connection is on and location services are active.) If the recipient is interested and opts in, he or she downloads a mobile application that lets them receive messages specific to their location in the store, entertainment venue, convention center -- wherever they happen to be. Every iOS device since the iPhone 4S and the third-generation iPad -- approximately 200 million gadgets in all -- is theoretically capable of sending or receiving these messages.

????"We like to talk about this as a digital sixth sense," says Kevin Hunter, director of product management for Qualcomm's Gimbal technology, the system behind the Dolphins trial and in Apple stores. "We provide context around location and proximity; we make it more filtered and more relevant."

????Along with Qualcomm, the Dolphins tested 22 different iBeacon use cases during the last two home games of its 2013 season, with 50 transmitters installed in Sun Life Stadium. Among them: Its marketing team distributed collectible video cards (including one that triggered the first time fans walked by a statue of Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Marino), advised them about which concession lines were shortest in their section, and offered up coupons for snacks and beverages.