The NewAer ProxPlatform: iBeacons are BlueTooth LE or BT Smart and 4.0:
Many reporters have described iBeacons as an indoor GPS solution, which it clearly isn’t if you read the API. Instead of thinking of iBeacons as a localization system, think of it as a proximity system, and design your applications appropriately to create an event or trigger when you enter or leave the range of one.
[There’s a lot of spin in the above post or it’s poorly written. Thinking about beacons around my home, maybe it could simplify some of the interactions with things. Make my phone beep when walk into the kitchen? Notifications when I walk past stores? Meh or worse. Reminders when I enter my office? Car? Hmmm. Maybe. Creating an easier experience so that a business or doctor can collect information that I specify so that I don’t have to fill out a paper form? I’ll take that. And as we get better at sharing information using a beacon as a trigger for data sharing seems reasonable. I’m curious to see if Apple has plans for this in their own stores any time soon.]