Swirl Unveils Industry's Most Advanced Bluetooth Low Energy Beacon for In-store Mobile Marketing At Scale

BOSTON, Sept. 30, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Swirl Networks, Inc., provider of the leading beacon marketing platform, introduced today the industry's most advanced, secure and longest-lasting battery powered Bluetooth® Low Energy (BLE) beacon. For large-scale retailers deploying thousands of beacons, a longer battery life can generate significant labor cost savings, since batteries don't need to be replaced as frequently. With a six year battery-life, support for multiple beacon communication protocols and a full suite of tools for managing large-scale beacon networks, Swirl's newest beacon hardware offering significantly reduces deployment complexity and maintenance costs for leading retailers.

Swirl's new beacon complements its industry-leading software platform that allows retailers and brands to create, manage and deliver in-store mobile marketing campaigns. The introduction of this new beacon follows the company's recent announcement that it has been granted a wide-reaching patent for its innovations in the field of beacon marketing.    

Swirl's newest beacon leverages the Texas Instruments (TI) SimpleLink™ CC2640 wireless microcontroller (MCU), which uses 40 percent less energy than chipsets used by most other beacon vendors. Powered by four AA batteries and an integrated real-time clock with standby mode that allows retailers to turn beacon broadcasts off during non-business hours, the new Swirl beacon offers a battery life that is two to three times that of most other beacons in the market today.

"Texas Instruments has a history of building groundbreaking chips that serve as the backbone for innovative IoT products," said Amit Hammer, business line director, wireless connectivity solutions at TI. "The SimpleLink Bluetooth® Smart CC2640 wireless MCU provides industry leading ultra-low power and performance and we're thrilled it is being used as the foundation for Swirl's next-generation beacon hardware."

Compatible with multiple industry-standard beacon protocols including Apple iBeacon, Google Eddystone and Swirl SecureCast™, the new beacon is complemented by a full suite of capabilities for managing enterprise beacon networks. These include:

• Automated provisioning and bulk configuration capabilities for rapid large-scale beacon deployment
• A cloud-based software platform for real-time beacon monitoring and remote beacon configuration
• An easy-to-use Beacon Manager app that enables beacon testing and location mapping by store associates or authorized servicing agents
• Encrypted beacon broadcasts that provide protection against beacon hacking, cloning and spoofing
• Over-the-air firmware updates that enable automated access to the latest beacon protocols and technology advances without costly manual intervention

"As retailers deploy beacons nationwide, they need to develop an infrastructure that is highly secure and easily maintained," said Hilmi Ozguc, founder and CEO of Swirl. "Our newest beacon has been built to deliver on every level, from battery life to security and fleet management tools. For retailers, these new capabilities provide them with unparalleled flexibility, while significantly reducing the complexity and overall cost of maintaining their large-scale beacon networks."

Swirl's beacons are licensed under the Federal Communications Commission, Industry Canada, Europe's CE, Japan's TELEC and Korea Certification.

ABOUT SWIRL NETWORKS 
Swirl offers leading retailers, brand advertisers and publishers the industry's most advanced platform for beacon-powered mobile marketing. By leveraging the power of Bluetooth® Smart beacons and the Swirl platform, retailers are able to influence in-store shoppers at the precise time and place they are making purchase decisions. Swirl Ad Exchange is the world's first programmatic private ad exchange for beacon-powered mobile advertising, allowing brands to deliver highly targeted content to shoppers wherever their products are sold. Swirl's patented technology (U.S. patent No. 8,781,502 B1) is used by leading retailers such as Lord & Taylor, Hudson's Bay, Urban Outfitters, Alex and Ani, Timberland and many more. Swirl is backed by top-tier investors including Twitter, Simon, Hearst, SoftBank Capital, and Longworth Venture Partners.  Learn more at www.swirl.com.

CONTACT: Lee Glandorf, 781-966-4145, [email protected]

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SOURCE Swirl Networks

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