Attention shoppers.
iBeacons are tracking you.
I'm Bridget Carey and this is your CNET Update.
Apple stores are using new technology to track customers and send messages to their iPhones when they walk to different areas of the store.
So, as an example, if you're standing there at display of iPads you may get a pop up on your iPhone to learn more about iPads.
It's all part of
iOS 7's iBeacon technology.
But for it to send messages to an iPhone, the user needs to have Bluetooth turned on and allow for location to be tracked with iBeacon, and they also need to be using the business' app.
In this case, the Apple Store app.
This year, several places are looking into how they can use iBeacons to communicate with their nearby customers.
Apple installed iBeacons of all of its stores across the U.S. but Major League Baseball showed off a demo of how it will use iBeacon technology next year to communicate
with fans as they walk throughout the stadiums, sending alerts to iPhones with coupons for hotdogs or details about nearby points of interest.
For baseball, you need to have the At the Ballpark app to see the messages.
Some department stores like Macy's are looking into iBeacons that communicate with app Shopkick.
So, that's something to keep an eye on.
The music streaming service Spotify could be launching a free mobile version supported by advertisements.
This is according to a report from the Wall Street Journal.
As of now, you can only listen to Spotify for free on the web through a computer, but if you wanna stream from a smartphone or tablet it costs $10 a month.
Spotify is unique and that you can pick the songs you want to play on demand but this free mobile version may be more like Pandora with themed radio stations where you really don't have a say in what plays next.
This new free mobile streaming app could be announced on Wednesday, December 11th, during a press event that morning.
Spotify would not be the first to add free ad-
supported mobile listening.
Rdio, another streaming music service added a free option in October.
Another iPhone game controller is on the way.
It's made by Razer and it's called the Kazuyo.
This is according to photos posted on Twitter by Ev Leaks and that account has been known to accurately spill the beans on upcoming tech products.
Razer makes gaming laptops and accessories and it also makes controllers for consoles like the Xbox.
So far, we don't have other details about the Kazuyo but
it looks like a similar design to Logitech's PowerShell controller, as well as the new Moga Ace Power iPhone controller.
Both of which sell for $100.
That's your tech news update but you can get more details at CNET.com/update.
From our studios in New York, I'm Bridget Carey.
