(1888PressRelease)
July 26, 2007 - NEW YORK CITY -- ZipZone Media, an innovator in the field of Bluetooth Marketing, has added exclusive range extending technology to its Bluetooth Marketing System, allowing a tenfold boost in range when sending advertising to mobile phones. Bluetooth Marketing, for those unfamiliar with it, allows an advertiser to send multimedia content, such as coupons, videos, java applications, and business cards to the Bluetooth enabled cell phones of people as they come within range.
"Range has always been an issue with any Bluetooth Marketing system", notes Raymond Stone, ZipZone Media's Director of Marketing. "Current Bluetooth specs allow for two types of devices" says Stone. "Class 1, usually found in Bluetooth servers, computers, and laptops, have a connection range of up to 100 meters, which means that they can connect and communicate with other Class 1 devices up to that distance. The majority of mobile phones in use, however, are Class 2 devices, with a range of only 10 meters." So, even if the more powerful device connects with the weaker one, the expected range is limited by the weaker. And, because Class 2 uses much less power than Class 1, resulting in longer battery life, mobile phone manufacturers use it almost exclusively in their offerings. The result - advertisers looking to target their content to mobile phones are limited to those within a radius of 10 meters. Until now, that is.
The technology, dubbed "Z Square Range XTend" consists of a small external antenna unit with a 3 foot cord that is plugged into the ZipZone Bluetooth Server. The combination of a high gain/high sensitivity antenna paired with sophisticated electronics allow the server to detect and communicate with lower powered Class 2 devices from up to 100 meters away.
"This technology is a real breakthrough for us" says Stone. "We can offer our customers the flexibility of doing short, medium and long range Bluetooth campaigns. Each has a specific target audience in mind, so the ability to change coverage at will has distinct advantages."
Before Z Square, advertisers had two choices when implementing their campaigns. Either plan their marketing efforts where small groups of people congregate, such as restaurant waiting areas, retail stores, or professional office waiting rooms, where the relatively small coverage area of conventional Bluetooth servers is ideal, or when extended coverage is desired, link multiple servers together, in a network fashion. While this linking strategy may work in theory, it is a very expensive and highly inefficient approach. For example, to completely cover an area with a radius of 100 meters requires over 85 conventional Bluetooth servers linked together in a network (since each unit's effective range with cell phones is only 10 meters). This is simply not a feasible alternative.
The increased range made possible by Z Square gives advertisers a practical way to conduct effective Bluetooth Marketing campaigns in areas not previously possible - wide open spaces with large crowds of people (a natural fit for this type of marketing). Advertisers could combine Bluetooth Marketing, for example, with large billboards to catch the attention of pedestrians. Car dealers could run a campaign at major auto shows to send visitors a video brochure of their new vehicles. Convention attendees could download events and schedules right to their cell phone. The appeal of Bluetooth Marketing is enhanced for many different industries and many different needs.
And, of course, advertisers always have the choice of using the system with or without the range extender. When marketing to small groups, 10 meter coverage is fine. However, just connect the external Z Square unit, and range is boosted tenfold, allowing the advertiser to effectively market in completely different settings.
If you would like more information on the Bluetooth Marketing System with Z Square Range XTend, please call ZipZone Media at 1-718-969-2436, or visit their website at:
http://www.zipzonemedia.com
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