“On March 5th Appleinsider published what we consider to be one of the most important Apple pieces of the year,” Jason Schwarz writes for Seeking Alpha. “It reveals that Disney’s Magic Kingdom in Orlando, FL, has done away with turnstiles at the park’s entrance as visitors are now greeted by workers holding iPod touches. This change is part of a larger initiative to create an entirely new payment platform within the resort. Tom Staggs, Chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts announced that the company plans to provide customer wrist bands called ‘MagicBands’ that will act as a visitor’s hotel key, pass card, and credit card. Along with the adoption of iPods, Disney is incorporating other elements of iOS that will enable Fastpass ride ticketing, maps, information on ride wait times, and the ability to view menus and book dining reservations. With the implementation of MagicBands, the era of the wallet is one step closer to extinction.”
“It’s interesting that Disney CEO Bob Iger sits on Apple’s board of directors and has decided to release a MagicBand just as rumors are heating up regarding the iWatch,” Schwarz writes. “Perhaps Disney is giving us a glimpse as to what is being discussed behind closed doors at Apple. Those who suppose that an iWatch would simply track time and mirror iPhone pre-existing functionality are ignoring the potential that we’re seeing from Disney’s initiative. Because an iWatch is attached to the body it is inherently more secure than a wallet or phone. As such, it is ideally suited to serve as a facilitator of secure financial transactions. If iWatch becomes the permanent version of Disney’s MagicBand it will enable consumers to seamlessly checkout at grocery stores, gas stations, malls, and restaurants. It can serve as a car key, hotel key, house key and work credential. Which casino will be the first to revamp its payout platform to iWatch? Identity theft and credit card fraud will diminish. Financial management within families becomes easier to control. Important identification like drivers licenses and passports could be digitally stored. A wrist device has the opportunity to carve out its own niche in the mobile revolution.”
Much more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: As anyone who’s every been to a major sporting event knows, such a thing would be indispensable when gathering liquid dispensables.
Beyond that, with all of the other things we can all imagine iWatch could do, everyone would want one.
We have room on our wrists next to our Nike FuelBands*, Apple (better yet, build FuelBand capabilities right into iWatch, please). Bring it on, Apple!
*Which we have to recharge every 3-4 days and the FuelBand does far less than we’d expect an Apple “iWatch” (“iBand?”) to do.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Ellis D.” for the heads up.]