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Proximity Beacons Find Themselves in More and More Locations

Rocco Fabiano says it’s time to shift gears. Time to go from evangelizing to commercializing.

The CEO of Gimbal Inc. in Sorrento Valley has sent his sales force into the field. They’re hitting U.S. retailers, advertising partners and developers. A small team has an international focus; after the United States, Fabiano said, Japan seems to have the most promising market for Gimbal products.

Gimbal, you might recall, is the Qualcomm Inc. spinoff that produces low-energy Bluetooth beacons and associated software that can tell a computer server whether a cellphone is within range of a beacon. Equipped with such information, the server can send location-specific messages to that person’s screen — assuming the person has opted in, and has the correct app running.

The message might be some helpful advice, such as which nearby concession stand at the baseball stadium has the shortest line (beacons are in most Major League Baseball parks, including Petco Park). The message might aim to help someone navigate one of those confusing big-box stores. A major U.S. art museum uses Gimbal’s technology to detect when a person is in the vicinity of a certain piece of art, and then sends information about that work to the viewer’s smartphone.

In the eight months since its split with Qualcomm, Gimbal has grown from 25 people to 38 full-time employees and a handful of consultants.

By now, a typical mall might have a half-dozen stores equipped with proximity beacons, Gimbal officials said. Some, such as GameStop, are public about it. Others with equally familiar names aren’t quite ready to go public.

Those who serve a specific demographic might be more likely to look into beacons. Gimbal officials said that millennials wandering through a store are more likely to consult their mobile device than a store clerk to get information.

Fabiano said the company is “particularly excited” about uses in the municipal environment. The technology could help visually impaired people navigate subway stations or airports. Downtown Los Angeles’ rail hub, Union Station, is rolling out a pilot program with beacons, according to that city’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority. There is talk of putting beacons on LA’s bus benches.

Several businesses offer beacon technology, but Gimbal partisans such as Keri Danielski are fond of saying that not all beacons are created equal. Danielski is VP for marketing and public relations.

Gimbal touts security and seamlessness. The company said it offers the only single hardware and software solution to meet the demands of developers, brands, venues and retailers.

What’s more, Gimbal is on its sixth generation of product. It’s been vetted by Qualcomm (Nasdaq: QCOM) and used by some demanding customers, such as Major League Baseball, Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) and the National Football League, which used it to send messages to fans during this year’s Super Bowl.

• • •

Middle Market Models: Qualcomm Inc. took the wraps off four mid-tier Snapdragon processors on Feb. 18. The chips — models 620, 618, 425 and 415 — are expected to be at the heart of mobile devices coming to market in the second half of this year. Qualcomm is delivering samples of the 415 chip to device makers now. Advanced features of Qualcomm’s 800-series chips are starting to percolate down to the midtier models, Qualcomm said. Some writers see these offerings as a challenge to midmarket competitors such as MediaTek Inc.

At the same time, the corporation announced that it is now spreading the Snapdragon name around, applying it to certain fourth-generation LTE modem chips.

• • •

It’s History: While putting together a story on Cymer for this week’s issue, I wanted to refer readers to a place where they could actually see a Cymer laser light source in person, to see how big and complicated a machine it is. For a long time, the San Diego History Center exhibited a light source in its museum foyer in Balboa Park’s Casa de Balboa. Unfortunately, the exhibit has changed. Nevertheless, the Cymer light source has another kind of staying power. The museum’s Matthew Schiff explained that the exhibit rotates, but always shows things that will probably be deemed to have historic importance in the future, maybe 100 years from now. … Speaking of Cymer, I came away from a recent visit to its offices with a cookbook published by parent company ASML. “Sharing Dishes: Celebrating Our Diversity” features recipes from the high-tech lithography machinery company’s worldwide staff. Among the Philippine lumpia and the Iranian chickpea-flour cookies are several contributions from the ASML and Cymer contingent in San Diego. Bridging the gaps in a diverse workplace can be tough. A multicultural cookbook struck me as a good way to break the ice.

Send San Diego technology news to bradg@sdbj.com.

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