Weekly Mashup 45

(c) Westpac

AR banking app scans your credit card to see where your money’s going

New Zealand bank Westpac have recruited a 20-something British rocket scientist to build them an augmented reality app which enables customers to simply scan their credit cards to track their spending on their mobiles.

(c) Traces

‘Immersive messaging’ app Traces lets you leave AR surprises for friends

A San Francisco-based company has built an augmented reality app enabling you to leave notes, messages, weblinks, photos and other surprises for friends around the real world. Traces, available in the Apple store, sends your recipient a GPS location, and they have to travel there to find their treat.

(c) iStock

How brands are using image- and facial-recognition in marketing

Retailers including Gap, Target, Westfield and Harrods are, more and more, offering shoppers augmented reality experiences via mobile apps to enhance the shopping experience and encourage sales.

(c) Epson

Epson smart glasses offer amateur pilots HUD function used by air forces

Epson's Moverio smart glasses have been given a makeover, and their latest pair - the BT-200's - now offer advanced HUD function for amatuer pilots wishing to experience what fighter pilots in the air forces do.

(c) iStock

Hearst finds innovative new ways to advertise on their print products

Hearst visit Bloomberg to explain how they are embracing new ways to advertise on their magazines, including a zippable denim cover on Marie Claire; a commercial cover-wrap on Oprah magazine, and a ‘fashion-in-a-box’ September issue of Harpers Bazaar.

(c) eMarketer

Smartphone users worry about in-store tracking… unless it means free stuff

American smartphone users aren’t that keen on retailers tracking their mobiles in-store, with their chief concerns being privacy worries. Of course, if stores offer them coupons or free goodies, some 88% of shoppers would be OK with it…