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Is the iPhone ready to mix you up a healthy beverage? Hardly, but one developer plans to tap the device’s graphics and motion detector technology to let consumers do some virtual mixing.
SiiTE Interactive, a New York-based creative marketing agency, said it’s developing a range of iPhone applications for clients and just for experimentation. One is for a yogurt chain interested in SiiTE’s idea for mobile coupons.
The concept is that an iPhone user will be able to mix a virtual smoothie, picking, say vanilla yogurt, strawberries and other ingredients on the screen. Once the ingredients are selected, the consumer can literally shake the iPhone to ‘blend’ up the drink they want (software written for the iPhone’s accelerometer lets the device respond appropriately to the shaking). Then the consumer can go to the yogurt shop any time with their iPhone and have an on-screen bar code scanned to receive the discount.
“It can be a channel to keep you connected to the company,” Alan Ruthazer, CEO of SiiTE Interactive, told InternetNews.com. “It’s a fun thing to show off to your friends and we think it can be an effective form of viral marketing.”
A few other ideas being cooked up by SiiTE for the iPhone include an “Origami-gram,” an illuminator for rock concerts and a virtual juice squeezer.
The Origami-gram, or “iFold,” uses the iPhone’s multi-touch technology to let users write a note and fold the virtual paper into custom origami configurations. The resulting swans, boxes, flowers and other designs can be saved in online galleries for others to enjoy.
For rock concert fans, cell phones have already replaced cigarette lighters as the device of choice to hold up high in a show of a solidarity. SiiTE is working on an application that will help you light up the hall with your iPhone, but also shake them in unison to generate the sounds of maracas, tambourines, jingle bells, and other instruments. SiiTE thinks this mobile music application could be included as a promotional item fans will download when they purchase a song at the iTunes store.
This article was first published on InternetNews.com. To read the full article, click here.
