It's just my opinion, but the last Apple presentation seemed to get a bit of a lukewarm reception. Apple's design is both a blessing and a curse to the company. If Apple doesn't release a big product or design change, the audience grumbles. It's a very short-sighted view of a company that has led the technology industry for a couple decades in technology, design and profitability.

With the latest keynote, one of the quiet mentions that was overlooked was a product called iBeacons. Only a few news outlets have mentioned iBeacons to date, including thepush, Apple Insider, GigaOm and Forbes. All of those articles are worth the read!

iBeacons are vendor agnostic and use a BlueTooth Smart technology. A low-cost trio of beacons ($99) can be mounted around stores and can accurately triangulate your location. Imagine the potential! If you're in a supermarket, no more wandering around looking for what you need. A future shopping list application could order your list so you can efficiently make it through the store - and include some specials along the way (or out of the way). This improves the customer experience and brings specials to the customer in real-time. As well, the device is recording where you stop along the way... perhaps capturing customer information on your interests. Wow.

Apple Insider calls this micro-location. What was missed in the Apple keynote is that this isn't the future - this is now. The software developer kit for iOS7 already includes the technology and the iBeacons are already on sale.

© 2013 DK New Media.