Comments on: Why Passbook could join Ping in the Apple graveyard

By: TheConfuzed1

TheConfuzed1 — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 16:47:56 +0000

Grey poop on what?

By: Truth

Truth — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 18:27:42 +0000

Actually, it is not much overhead. I go to the grocery store regularly, I must. They allow me to use cash back while my wallet is out and in my hand. No overhead, simple.

My bank isn’t even in the same state as I currently am. I use cash all the time. Cash is best for tipping, dealing with local farmers, artists, etc. small business pays fees on plastic transactions. They love cash.

By: leodavinci1

leodavinci1 — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 16:35:59 +0000

It isn’t up to Fandango to hide a fee, it’s up to the theaters to absorb it… which I don’t see them doing. Fandango is a really an unnecessary middle man.

Can you imagine theaters using independent (meaning non-employee) ticket sellers… sellers who would go house to house to sell tickets, and who charged a dollar more per ticket than you would pay at the theater just so you could have the convenience of not having to stop at the box office?

That’s Fandango.

It the theaters were smart, they’d dump Fandango and any similar third parties and would let people buy tickets online at the same price as at the box office. That extra dollar tuns off a lot of people. My wife absolutely refuses to buy movie tickets online because of it.

By: MacRaven

MacRaven — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 15:08:22 +0000

I cringed when Apple named that Ping. Jinxed it right there.

By: vanfruniken

vanfruniken — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 15:03:29 +0000

Everything is in place for very quick adoption. I last went to a concert and they already had PassBook support (before most users were ready). All clerks at the entrance used an iPhone to scan user tickets. Amazing.
No, this won’t pan out like Ping.

By: auramac

auramac — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 14:53:05 +0000

I thought it was still beta and haven’t used it at all. Then again, not sure I’d use it anyway.

By: DMac

DMac — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 14:32:54 +0000

My complaint is that it’s not intuitive. You open it and you don’t automatically get it. The beauty of Apple is that I can hand it to my elderly parents and they quickly understand how to use it. Until any apps were synced with passbook, you open to a very unhelpful screen showing compatible apps, but no explanation of what to do. Now that I have a couple of apps linked, I open to a very unhelpful wallet. I know how to use my actual wallet, but it is not immediately obvious to the average person how to use this one. A better UI and/or an “info” button would be a big step in saving this app.

By: Joel

Joel — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 13:14:15 +0000

I am partial to Tim Hortons. Better regular coffee for less money and they have real donuts. The drivethrough lines are always quite long, though.

By: Critic2

Critic2 — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 13:09:16 +0000

I’ve never used it before, so I just tried to open it. The only thing it will do is send me to the App Store, without any explanation as to wtf I’m supposed to do

By: DeRS

DeRS — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 12:57:51 +0000

We should not download each app, the author is wrong. It is up to programmers to make it right.

However, it will take no less than half year before passbook will be wider supported.

By: David

David — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 11:48:36 +0000

I live in the US, yes the coffee is horrible but the WiFi used to be good.

By: Shabbadoo

Shabbadoo — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 09:17:26 +0000

Might you have any Grey Poupon?

By: Chris

Chris — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 08:40:48 +0000

Most people I know here in the UK think so too. Yet it’s still popular. I use it as the coffee if last resort.

By: Chris

Chris — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 08:38:42 +0000

But there’s an overhead isn’t there? You have to top it up. You have to physically go to a place you can do this. The change has weight and bulk. You run out of it sometimes. Nothing terrible, but don’t make out it’s oh so simpler.

By: mredofcourse

mredofcourse — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 07:50:05 +0000

Oh noes… you have to download a whole app??? If it’s one thing we know about iOS devices… People don’t like to download apps. How can one expect a platform to succeed if people have to figure out how to tap an install button to let an app download? It also takes too long. With LTE speeds in excess of 55Mbps, you could spend whole *seconds* waiting for the app to download even after you’ve figured out how to tap the screen.

Seriously though, I *love* Passbook. I use it all the time for Fandango and Starbucks. I just wish Apple would evangelize it more, and do some biz-dev so that I could use it at more places.

By: hedware

hedware — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 06:58:25 +0000

Given the number of posts citing Starbucks, it remains a puzzle that Americans think that Starbucks’ coffee is coffee. I doubt that US Starbucks’ coffee stronger than it is in Australia, and so for us, it is like weak dishwater.

By: ban6dit

ban6dit — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 06:28:24 +0000

What if you get the notification and YOU didn’t make a transaction. It is a security feature that can be used to protect yourself from unauthorized purchases I your account. AND it confirms the transaction went through correctly and for the correct amount. If you fail to get. Notification when you should then you know the transaction failed declined etc. this is especially useful for online transactions. Some sites have crappy UIs and its hard to tell if the online purchase. Went though.

By: Whatever

Whatever — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 06:22:05 +0000

That it is already on your home screen at the airport instead of you fumbling around trying to find that united app and holding up the line.

By: coolfactor

coolfactor — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 06:19:07 +0000

I agree that Passbook has a weakness with regards to the user interface. When there’s no cards loaded, the app seems to do nothing. No responsive feedback when it’s open. Just “frozen”, which is the exact opposite expectation that iOS brought to mobile interfaces.

And the need to download apps before cards can be loaded (although not the only way) is also very confusing and is a flaw in the design. Definitely unnecessary duplication.

By: coolfactor

coolfactor — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 06:16:43 +0000

Don’t encourage off-topic posts. And to correct your misinformation, iTunes 11 was first promised for late October, and then switched to late November.

By: Fuque Moore

Fuque Moore — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 05:58:03 +0000

It is easy to use, but it’s not obvious how to use it the first time. That’s the barrier to entry problem. Hopefully Sir Jonny can help with this.

By: The Other Steve

The Other Steve — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 05:45:47 +0000

Fandango won’t ever become mainstream till it hides its fees in the regular price like credit cards do rather than charging the user a big fee just for doing the movie houses a favor.

By: davylow

davylow — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 04:40:48 +0000

Just like you, so far Starbucks is all I use it for. But that makes it one of my favorite apps, and I have a lot of apps.

By: davylow

davylow — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 04:38:27 +0000

Why would I want that? What do you do with that extra notification about a transaction you made a few seconds ago?

By: silverhawk1

silverhawk1 — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 04:18:35 +0000

No, iTunes isn’t late. It was always promised for November 2012. What month are you living in?

By: Gregg Morton

Gregg Morton — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 04:12:53 +0000

This!

I love that. Helps you monitor your account in realtime. Big fan…

By: anim8me2

anim8me2 — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 04:02:27 +0000

Had the deal with Facebook worked out Ping would probably have been a huge success.

By: Bandit Bill

Bandit Bill — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 03:53:19 +0000

I use cash, it works every time.

By: iSundanceTaos

iSundanceTaos — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 03:27:30 +0000

By: iSundanceTaos

iSundanceTaos — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 03:27:11 +0000

I used Starbucks’s passbook card all the time, and have no complain about it.

By: rdiddly

rdiddly — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 03:21:38 +0000

It doesn’t seem to “just work”. I bought tickets via my iPhone (Fandango) to see “Life of Pi” this weekend. I thought that because Fandango is integrated with Passbook, my tickets would show up on my lock screen as advertised when I arrived at the theater. It didn’t happen. Instead, I waited for the guy in front of me at the ticket counter, then gave my credit card to the attendant, and got my tickets and glasses in 2 seconds. What does one have to do? I go to the Passbook app and I’m shown the icons for apps that are integrated, and a button that takes me to the App Store. How useless is that?

By: muddygun

muddygun — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 02:55:04 +0000

My only problem with passbook is there are not enough companies using it. I kind imagined it as a one stop shop for everything you keep in your pockets. Like a CVS pharmacy card, or a subway buy 10 sandwiches get one free, or a Best Buy rewards card, and your credit cards. I still have to use my regal crown club card to get points…but it would sure be nice if it was on passbook and it would also be nice if it told me how many points i had and when i could get stuff with it. Boy’s gotta dream ya know.

By: Me

Me — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 01:47:56 +0000

I used the United app with Passbook. It was delightful to have the boarding pass show up in the notifications, and automatically increase the screen brightness, and be available from the lock screen so I don’t have to do all the fiddling around when I get to the front of the line.

Folks, consider use cases other than yours before whining. This one’s a winner, if you use electronic boarding passes at all. I can imagine that it’s just as useful for its other (geofence, etc) applications.

By: someguy

someguy — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 01:20:47 +0000

I like the Amex app in passbook. It shows the last charge I made on my amex card. Simple but good. It amazes me how quickly the notification shows up after I charge something.

By: Mgrad92

Mgrad92 — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 00:59:31 +0000

Even if I used Passbook for nothing more than accessing my card when I roll up to my favorite Starbucks every day, it would totally be worth it. Nothing more than a novelty? Hardly.

Typical of a poor critic. If you personally don’t get something, why assume immediately that it’s a shortcoming of the thing? It’s always possible that you just don’t get it — so seek out those who do.

By: Apple is Always Right

Apple is Always Right — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 00:38:29 +0000

iTunes 11 next this week? If not it would be a shame. 2 months late.

By: GM

GM — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 00:28:59 +0000

Si.

By: GlassHollow

GlassHollow — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 00:22:23 +0000

Looks like Fandango and Target are doing very well according to the reviews.

I haven’t been going to the movies lately. So I’ve yet to try that.

Might be interested in more Target like apps.

By: Or?

Or? — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 00:18:52 +0000

Worse than Bing?

By: Dogadoga

Dogadoga — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 00:13:22 +0000

I hope it gains traction.

By: Tflint

Tflint — Sun, 25 Nov 2012 23:53:17 +0000

“I have all the Apps I want on my smartphone now.” Gosh! would one more App make the phone weigh too much?

By: António - Lisbon

António - Lisbon — Sun, 25 Nov 2012 23:32:22 +0000

Booking.com works great with passbook worldwide. Waiting for British Airways or TAP…

By: Allan King

Allan King — Sun, 25 Nov 2012 23:28:38 +0000

I tend to agree. I tried the United App in Passbook. First I had to login through the United App. Then I could link my boarding pass to Passbook. But meanwhile I already had a scannable image of my boarding pass in the United App. What do I do with two of them?

Further, the boarding pass did NOT appear on my lock screen as promised by Passbook.

So what is Passbooks real value to the air traveler?

By: Ping Pong

Ping Pong — Sun, 25 Nov 2012 23:23:50 +0000

At least Passbook isn’t intrusive like Ping was. I give thanks that they drove a stake through the heart of that turkey.

By: pjs_boston

pjs_boston — Sun, 25 Nov 2012 23:23:36 +0000

I use Passbook. It works well once you set it up, a process which takes all of a few seconds. It’s nice to have my Starbuck card ready to go when I walk in. Looking forward to boarding passes, movie tickets, etc. once the apps are ready.

I don’t get what this guy’s fuss is about.

By: David

David — Sun, 25 Nov 2012 23:22:34 +0000

Might even be worse than Ping.

By: Bongo

Bongo — Sun, 25 Nov 2012 23:22:19 +0000

It’s a good point. We shouldn’t have to download each app in order to use it with Passbook.

By: Steven

Steven — Sun, 25 Nov 2012 23:20:02 +0000

You don’t have to download an app first to load a card, developers are responsible for that. Apple already made it capable of much more than what developers are using it for. Best buy could, in theory, send your reward zone member card as an attachment in an email and you could import it into your passbook app instead of having a physical card that you put into your wallet. I already hate reward cards because of the extra physical space they consume in the wallet, but with passbook that issue is avoided.