{"id":5353,"date":"2017-10-23T18:04:43","date_gmt":"2017-10-23T15:04:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beaconit.ro\/en\/?p=5353"},"modified":"2017-10-26T17:42:18","modified_gmt":"2017-10-26T14:42:18","slug":"english-ibeacons-beacons-and-bluetooth-tags-learn-the-lingo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/beaconit.ro\/en\/ibeacons-beacons-and-bluetooth-tags-learn-the-lingo\/","title":{"rendered":"iBeacons, Beacons, and Bluetooth Tags: Learn the Lingo"},"content":{"rendered":"What is iBeacon? And how are businesses putting these \u2018iBeacon\u2019 contraptions everywhere? Here\u2019s the lowdown on basic beacon lingo, and how to know whether you\u2019re using it right.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat is iBeacon?<\/a>\u201c<\/h2>\n

Did you know that basically no one actually buys \u201ciBeacons?\u201d This is because iBeacon is often fundamentally misunderstood. The Bluetooth beacon, as pictured below, is not actually \u201can iBeacon.\u201d iBeacon describes only the protocol used by the beacon (again, the hardware below) to talk to other technologies.<\/p>\n

Note that most beacons on the market can use either iBeacon OR Eddystone (from Google) to communicate with other technology. That means, while you may want to use specify that you use iBeacon, you\u2019re still not actually buying one.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat is a Beacon?\u201d<\/h2>\n

The\u00a0beacon\u00a0itself, you buy. You can touch it, take it apart, look at the batteries. It\u2019s the physical hardware. But this is also where it gets interesting:<\/p>\n

\u201cDo I need beacons or\u00a0Bluetooth tags?\u201d<\/h2>\n

Trick question! They\u2019re the same thing. These two terms will continue popping up more and more often as beacons (or Bluetooth tags) grow in popularity. The idea of the \u201cbeacon\u201d is more about marketing than anything. \u201cBeacon\u201d in many ways describes what the hardware actually does. It also recalls the idea of the iBeacon, making it easy to connect the two.<\/p>\n

Bluetooth\u00a0tag, on the other hand, is a more straight-forward and traditional term. If you\u2019ve ever heard of RFID, you probably know RFID tags. It\u2019s the same with Bluetooth. For businesses using these tools, Bluetooth is simply a different kind of technology that can be used for many of the same uses as\u00a0RFID, UWB, and so on. These industries (like manufacturing, healthcare, or logistics) \u201ctag\u201d is a rather traditional and well-known term.<\/p>\n

Thus, if you\u2019re not sure if you want to say \u201cbeacon\u201d or \u201cBluetooth tag,\u201d you can just examine your vertical or use case. Luckily, you won\u2019t be wrong no matter what you choose.<\/p>\n

\"2\"<\/a><\/p>\n

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Whether you choose beacons or tags, know you\u2019re working with the same, incredible technology.