Web Signals have not been getting as much traction as I imagined when they were released but RIM is working hard to catch up. It looks like they have teamed up with Air Canada to help them implement Web Signals to allow you to forward your boarding pass and flight information to your BlackBerry. Pretty cool stuff! You just choose to use Web Signals when you do the online check-in.
They do mention that if the Web Signal does not work you can easily print your boarding pass at the airport. This is key since RIM does not have any SLA or quality of service agreement for the free Web Signals service. I think this is a brilliant use case for RIM and their Web Signals. Personally I always had the idea that they would be used to send you banking and credit card alerts to monitor usage. If you fly Air Canada out of Toronto’s Pearson airport I would definitely check out the service and Alex Kâs excellent walk through on how it works. You can read more about flight notifications at this link and the Web Signal at this link.
I think RIM has a some serious potential with Web Signals. The only downside I have been seeing thus far is that there is no solid documentation except for one cryptic PDF from RIM. There is no sample code available and it looks like the dedicated forum it used to have on the official support forums is no longer there. Hopefully the implementation by Air Canada will draw some interest from other carriers and companies to follow suit. I have been looking at Web Signals myself since I think it has some interesting use cases but after I applied for one this past Thursday I have yet to hear back from RIM. Hopefully I will get a response soon!
DavidB ( View Profile) - Posts: 1791
Posted: September 7, 2009 at 10:01 AM EST from my BlackBerry 9530
I would love it if my flight tomorrow I could use this! But alas it is on United. Plus I cast imagine USA TSA handling this well.
My only beef with Signals was the painful process to un-subscribe to one. Plus it seems PIN based, so I would be concerned about security when you switch devices. The Signals don’t move on their own to your new device, so where are they going???
DigitalHomeBoy Not Registered
Posted: September 7, 2009 at 11:54 AM EST from my BlackBerry 8900
It’s good to see RIM, a major player in the mobile industry step up with Air Canada. Seeing that the BlackBerry is now popular with all the kids in town and not just the suits, its ideal to have this leverage against its competition.
What I also found quite interesting in the article were the screen caps which shows 497 emails and 28 FB messages? 497 emails on a BlackBerry device? Hmmm, do ya need a book on how to check your emails? If you’re that lazy you shouldn’t have a Blackberry, nor should screen cap examples like that be used…errrr
Ronen Halevy ( View Profile) - Posts: 3321
Posted: September 7, 2009 at 12:00 PM EST
I was going to ask Alex K from RIM that same question… The screencaps are his