Tag Archives: Mobile Devices

Can You Spot Me $5?

Splitting a cab just got so much easier.

The app Venmo has grown rapidly in popularity over the past few years and is making waves in how we handle money between friends. For years we have been spotting our friends, and trusting they’ll pay us back. Now you don’t have to go through awkwardly reminding them they owe you $8 for the cab you split in the summer of ’13, and can simply charge them. The app allows you to connect to a bank, debit card, or credit card to then collect and charge your Facebook friends and email contacts.

As someone who prefers to pay for most things by card, I rarely carry cash on me. I’ve been using Venmo ever more frequently to help not only keep track of what I owe my friends, but to easily pay them back.

Not to mention, the comments provide much needed comic relief on a rainy day like today.

What Sparks Our Fire: A quick and easy way to spot our friends and get paid back.

Would you use Venmo to pay and charge your friends?

Where does music take you?

itunes-radio

By now, iOS7 for Apple products has been released, and lots of people are talking about the benefits or detriments of the system and what it can do for you. The new system has lots of changes and improvements, but one of the most interesting is iTunes Radio. Radio is integrated directly into the music app on your iPhone or iPad, and is connected directly to the iTunes store, so you can download whatever song you’re listening to at that exact moment. It features more than 250 curated radio stations, and you can create your own as well. This new feature is married into your system, and might be a strong contender in the smartphone radio race.

What sparked our fire: Seamless integration of an established music purchasing and playing program with a radio app format.

Will this new form of iTunes supplant established radio apps like Pandora?

Some, privacy please!

digital privacy

Most Americans have at least one mobile device in which they send and receive data. With all of this data floating around, it is very easy for someone to steal your personal information in a matter of seconds. Now, you probably don’t care if someone reads a silly text from your friend. But how would you feel if a total stranger read a confidential email from a colleague? Or from your doctor?

Adam Harvey, a New York City based artist, has designed a mobile device accessory that can stop all signals. The OFF Pocket, a case for your cell phone, blocks WiFi, GPS and cellular signals making your device untraceable, unhackable and undetectable. The only major downside is you cannot send or receive any information while your device is in the case.

Today millions of people are tracked through their mobile devices, even when they’re not being used. The OFF Pocket allows you to completely disconnect while maintaining total control over your privacy. The accessory will prove most valuable when the phone is not being used, which is more often than you would expect! Think about it, how much time do you actually spend on a mobile device a day? The average American spends roughly an hour a day on their smartphone, so the remaining 23 hours could be spent protecting your information.

What sparked our fire: An innovative product that encourages and allows consumers to truly unplug.

Would you give up instantaneous connectivity for some privacy?

Enjoy!

-Canopy Team

Retail stores keep their eyes on the prize…you

im-watching-youretail pic

Retailers are pushing the boundaries of in-store Wi-Fi and camera surveillance to capture data about their shoppers. Wi-Fi signal tracking and facial analysis helps stores monitor their consumer’s behavior and movement to evaluate, and more importantly enhance, the in-store shopping experience. How might they enhance the customer experience? Quite simply. If a customer’s phone is automatically set to search for Wi-Fi networks in the area, a retailer can pick up the phone’s unique ID code. This technology allows the store to track the customer’s journey (within a 10 foot radius). Many stores have begun to capitalize on this technology by creating branded apps. Although the shopper voluntarily enters their personal information, stores are able to track and target them based on location. If the customer is wandering around the shoe department, the app recognizes their location and can then send them coupons for shoes. Retailers rolling out this technology have experienced mixed reviews. Some stores have reported increased efficiency and optimization of their floor plans while others have received customer complaints about violating their privacy.

What sparks our fire: Relying on technology to better understand the customer’s shopping experience.

How do we draw the line between enhancing the in-store experience and invasion of privacy?

Enjoy!

-Canopy Team