July 4-5:
Rémy Martin dives into digital, Apple Pay hits U.K., 3D printed toothbrushes and more tech trends to follow.
1. NFC Moves Beyond Payments
If you thought the only use for the NFC chip in your phone was for Apple Pay, think again. Rémy Martin has partnered with Selinko to produce the first NFC enabled bottle, called the Rémy Martin Club Connected Bottle. The point of the connected bottle is so consumers can be sure that the bottle they just purchased is true, authentic, Rémy Martin Cognac. Or it’s just a cool way to use NFC technology.
Rémy Martin felt the best way to ensure true authenticity was with an NFC chip that is placed in the cap. The customer must hold their phone over the cap and the chip will tell the user whether or not the bottle has been opened. The only catch being they must download an app first – which is a little silly seeing as you could do the same thing with the native mobile wallet (no need for an app).
The sad part is, it won’t be available till the fall and will be exclusively in China, so plan accordingly. Regardless if you’re making the trip to China, check out the video and see the future of VIP for yourself.
2. Apple Pay Expected to Hit U.K. July 14th
Thanks to retailers internal memos and Apple retail employees, we now know Apple Pay will be enabled in the U.K. on July 14th. Announced at WWDC, Apple Pay U.K. will launch in over 250,000 retailers and be available in about 8 banks with more being added in autumn. Further proof of the launch date is that it appears Apple will start training its employees on July 12th.
They have also been busy enabling point of sale systems and preparing materials to help stores promote the launch of Apple Pay. While the launch will include a £20 cap per transaction, it is expected that later this fall the limit will be set to process much higher values. After the U.K., we can expect to see Apple Pay in Canada and China later this year, and maybe even Seoul sometime in the future.
Source: 9to5Mac
3. 3D Printing Enables Unexpected Innovation
Millennials once said that they consider their mobile phones to be more important than their toothbrush. Well, one company may have just made it easier for millennials to brush their teeth with tech, which will allow them to be on their phone more.
Blizzident has 3D printed a toothbrush that can brush your teeth in record time. According to Blizzident, you simply need to bite down, start chomping for 6 seconds, and your teeth are perfectly clean. They say that 6 Blizzident-seconds equals approximately 3 minutes brushing time with a manual toothbrush.
In order to get Blizzident, you need to visit the dentist, get a 3D scan of your teeth, and send it to the company. They will then 3D print your one of a kind toothbrush and for $300, you can start brushing your teeth in 6 seconds. Allowing you to spend more time on twitter.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9dnuq3vJyMw
Source: WonderfulEngineering
4. Netflix Takes Down 200 Movies/TV Shows
If you sat down over the long weekend and intended to spend the day binge watching Netflix, you may have been shocked to see your favorite program was gone. You weren’t alone.
In a move that What’s On Netflix Now’s David Speranza calls “a massacre,” Netflix has removed more than 200 items from its instant streaming service. While almost all of the shows removed were classics rather than newer movies or shows, titles such as Cast Away and Super Troopers have been axed. The good news however is Netflix is planning on introducing new content this month.
Lessons have been learned. And the lesson here is to never take your favorite Netflix show for granted.
Source: Mashable
5. New Apple Patent For Peer-to-Peer Payment Process
It has been recently discovered that Apple has a patent for P2P payments with Apple Pay. This again shows that they are making big leaps within the mobile wallet alongside the introduction of Apple Pay U.K and the changing of Passbook to Wallet. This patent and potential upgrade to Apple Pay is bad news for Google Wallet, Paypal and Square, who all share the space of P2P payments. Check out this article to see exactly how this patent could affect the entire mobile wallet ecosystem.
