Island company reaching out with bluetooth
A device that allows companies to ping information to passing mobile users is proving popular for an Isle of Dogs firm.
Idscan has reported £100,000 worth of initial sales of the Blue2 broadcasting system, which allows advertisers, businesses and authorities to reach potential customers up to a kilometre away.
The technology - which launched just over a month ago - is already being utilised by the BBC, Sky, Tower Hamlets Council, clubs, bars and the Home Office.
Managing director Tam Thompson said: "We've had orders coming from all over the world. Distributors are selling the product in places such as US, Estonia, East Africa and Australia.
"It's good to see something you've created doing well."
The Blue2 marketing tool can send images, animation, movies, text and electronic business cards to Bluetooth-enabled phones, PDA's, smart phones and laptops.
Options range from the Blue2 Go model - which can detect phones and other devices up to 250m away - to the Blue2 Pro+, which can stretch to 1km.
Tam said: "People passing will receive an alert saying someone wants to contact them. If they decide not to accept, they won't be contacted again. If they do, they can receive business cards, offers and coupons.
"Lots of musicians buy the product so that when people go to gigs, they can download an mp3 of a song.
"There are so many restrictions on billboards and posters now, so this is easier for small businesses."
Tam moved his biometrics company from Tiller Road's Docklands Business Centre to the Skyline Village in Marsh Wall last year. Its products include the Agesafe verification system, which allows vendors to confirm the ages of cigarette and alcohol buyers.
Cloakscan can store image and fingerprint records of coat-owners, while Clubscan can identify barred or under-age club-goers with a swipe of an ID card. Later this year it expects to unveil Lobbyscan, a system of managing visitors to major offices such as banks using fingerprint, face recognition and ID scanning.
Idscan's Searcharch division has distributed metal detectors and search wands to events such as last month's UK cabinet meeting, the first to take place in Scotland for 88 years.
It has sold around 900 hand-held search devices since the new year, with buyers including schools in Manchester and Birmingham and nightclubs in the West End.
Tam said: "There's a huge demand. There's definitely an increase in interest in security products."
Go to idscan.co.uk for more details.
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I placed an order for the BLUE2GO directly with IDSCAN and have never received the item (despite the promise of next day delivery) or a refund (as promised by their “Financial Controller” who spoke to me like I was dirt).
Initially I was advised that this was a result of problems with their systems happily taking my money but failing to issue the item for delivery, this was then inconveniently made worse by a postal strike several days later.
After reporting for the second time that the item hadn’t arrived
“Well I don’t know what you want us to do, you’ll just have to wait”
After reporting for the first time that my refund hadn’t arrived
“What do you want me to do fly over there and give you the cash myself???”
There are cheaper, alternative products that deliver the same results provided by suppliers that will treat you like a person not just another order number.