Blue Butterfly has created a new app that simplifies connecting to WiFi by allowing users to connect by simply tapping their phone to a countertop, wall or window. There's no need to register, remember a password or enter your email address; just "TapToWifi".
Find out how we can empower your business to offer secure, hassle-free WiFi, whilst boosting your social media profile.
You're busy running your business and the last thing you want to deal with handing out WiFi passwords. With our technology, your employees won't be distracted with tech support as customers access WiFi instantaneously, through a simple tap of the phone to the designated area (counter, coaster, wall, etc.). You customise the homepage they connect to - for instance, prompting anybody using your network to check in on Facebook, Twitter or Foursquare, or to review you on Yelp. This space is ideally suited to shining the spotlight on specials, promotions, upcoming events and other news, broadening the scope for customer viewing as it does not present the disincentives of time-wasting and the perils of code-access. You may even wish to use the app to allow customers to order and pay for items via their smartphones.
Ever opened your smartphone in a cafe to find that the WiFi network requires a password or registering? Your customers know the experience only too well: they dodge the queue and ask the flustered staff at the counter for the password. They are handed a crumpled piece of paper with a 10-digit number on it, which must then be carefully and tediously pecked into the phone's tiny keyboard. Alternatively, they think they're connected to the WiFi, but when they open their browser they find a lengthy registration form waiting for them. Even worse, they then have to remember yet another username and password.
We've built our technology using NFC (Near Field Communication), a new wireless medium built into most modern smartphones. Users simply install our app for free and they can connect to any Blue Butterfly hotspot with a simple tap. We also support QR codes too, so even users with older phones can still connect by scanning one of our signs.
You can find our more about our technology here.
NFC stands for Near Field Communication, it's a type of electronic chip that can exchange all kinds of data with other NFC chips when they're close to each other. It’s integrated into millions of new smartphones, debit cards, and soon tablet computers too.
Most new smartphones have NFC. Juniper research estimate that by 2014, 300 million smartphones will be NFC-enabled. This is actually likely to be exceeded once more and more people realise the potential of NFC as a means to access of kinds of information on their mobile phone. We think Blue Butterfly is a huge part of this.
We think our unique TapToWiFi app is a game-changer for mobile, and so do Telefónica; that's why they recently invested in us and gave us a new office space in central London. The great thing about our app is that it acts as an essential bridge between the offline world and the online world. At our meetings, we've talked about the how easy our app makes getting online at bars, cafés and other places that offer free WiFi, but that’s only the start. Here's three use cases that demonstrate why Blue Butterfly's TapToWifi app will have huge implications for a range of sectors.
Blue Butterfly is a new technology company that has invented an app for smartphone users to connect securely and hassle-free to WiFi. With just a tap to an NFC sign their instantly connected without having to remember a password, fill out a form, or enter their email address.
This revolutionary little app also enables businesses to ensure that only their customers are able to use their Wifi, while raising their online profile: when they connect, users can be promoted to check in on social networks like Facebook and Foursqaure. In addition, Blue Butterfly's TapToWifi app empowers businesses to deploy new services to their customers, such as ordering and payment and information updates about the latest products and promotions, in a way that utilises all the functionality of their mobile handsets.
When we were entering our first hackathon we needed to come with a name for a team. We decided to name it after Andy's jazz band. Although the brand's origins are quite novel, the name Blue Butterfly is actually very powerful: it refers to the butterfly effect, which in chaos theory is the process where a small change at one location can have big effects at another. In the same way, Blue Butterfly's tiny app will transform people's experience of shopping, socialising and accessing information. As a company, we identified early on the need to have a strong brand to drive adoption of NFC and use of our app, so the Blue Butterfly brand is a fundamental part of our business.
Burning questions still unanswered? No problem, just pop an email along to contact@bluebutterfly.co.uk and we'll get back to you. Alternatively, give us a call on +44 (0)20 8798 3345.
