CNN – Bluetooth’s ads to tourists in Times Square

Yesterday I was passing through Times Square when my phone buzzed. I looked down and saw that Dr. Sanjay Gupta was trying to send me a message. I was traveling pretty quickly so I was not able to accept it or even capture a screenshot (hey it was below 20 degrees with wind!). This is the first bluetooth ad I’ve seen first hand and has to be one of the earlier experiments in the US.

On my Nokia’s I’ve actually activated the preference for receiving ads (professional curiosity), and I am pretty sure the N73 was set to broadcast mode as well. I’m not sure whether broadcast mode status has any impact on receiving bluetooth ads or not. Anyone?

When the ad came through I was quite surprised. I still don’t really know how I really feel about this. Given the number of attention getting devices in Times Square, I can see where using bluetooth might break through a bit, but it’s still a tad disturbing. The mobile is a highly personal device and this seems to cross a line. If this had been user-initiated it would be entirely different, but on top of everything else I really don’t want messages from Dr. Sanjay Gupta and CNN. I’m sure it was to promote his show or an appearance rather than warn me about some looming health hazard.

Technorati Tags: , , ,

One Reply to “CNN – Bluetooth’s ads to tourists in Times Square”

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.