Google is putting its own spin on beacon technology, releasing the open-source, cross-platform beacon format Eddystone.
The format is a direct challenge to Apple’s two-year-old iBeacon specification, which has since become a cornerstone in a bevy of beacon endeavors.
Beacons are used by a range of businesses for mobile marketing efforts. The small, low cost pieces of hardware function like a transmitter, exchanging data with apps on a phone to find a user’s location. If a consumer has an app enabled, a business can their in-store beacon to trigger various types of marketing campaigns once a device is in proximity.
