Walt Disney World pilot test replaces turnstiles with Apple's iPod touch

Family vacation mecca Walt Disney World is in the midst of a trial program that has replaced old-fashioned turnstiles with employees toting Apple's iPod touch for a more personal, friendly ticketing system.

A Disney cast member scans a park pass with an iPod touch. Photo by Alexandra Hughes.

Visitors to the Magic Kingdom in Central Florida will notice that Disney has begun to eliminate old-fashioned turnstiles at the park's entrance. Instead, some visitors are greeted by the company's "cast members," holding iPod touches in their white-gloved hands.

The change is part of a larger initiative by Disney known as "MyMagic+," which has the ultimate goal of making the company's theme parks even more convenient and inviting for those who visit.Disney's cast members have been equipped with Apple iPod touches as part of a test to more easily provide services to guests.

A Disney representative who spoke with AppleInsidernoted that because the program is in a trial stage, there's no guarantee that the company will ultimately adopt the iPod touch as a long-term catch-all connected solution for its cast members. But for now, cast members are utilizing Apple's iOS device with a special accessory case and accompanying software that allow passes to be scanned and information to be quickly accessed if a visitor needs assistance.

Disney's Magic Kingdom is the most visited theme park in the world, having hosted 17 million visitors in 2011. It's the centerpiece of the Walt Disney World Resort located near Orlando, Fla.

Officials hope the changes at the Magic Kingdom make it a more welcoming visit: Instead of structures that block people from entering, visitors are simply greeted by a Disney cast member as they walk into the park. Eventually, all guest tickets will be radio-frequency enabled to further expedite the process.

The new ticketing system means that a full family with two strollers and two adults can now go through at the same time — something that was impossible before.

Disney's use of the iPod touch at its Central Florida resort is similar to what Apple has done at its retail stores, where checkout counters and cash registers are a thing of the past. Instead, employees at Apple's own stores are also equipped with iPod touches that can be used to finalize a purchase and scan a customer's credit card.

A closer look at Disney's iPod touch ticketing system.

At the Walt Disney World resort, 50 percent of the previous turnstiles at Disney's parks remain in place, while the other 50 percent were converted to use RFID. As the MyMagic+ plan expands, Disney plans to provide customers RFID wrist bands — known as the "MagicBand" — that will do it all, acting as a visitor's hotel key, park pass, Fastpass card, and even a way to authorize transactions tied to a credit card.

The company's plans were detailed by Tom Staggs, chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts in January, when he noted that his company has "devoted considerable time and resources to create a more immersive, more seamless and more personal experience" for guests.The Magic Kingdom is the most visited theme park in the world, having hosted 17 million guests in 2011 alone.

"This collection of tools is another step forward in the ongoing evolution of our guest experience, giving us even more ways to help friends and family create the unforgettable Disney memories that they want most," Staggs said.

Other crucial parts of Disney's changes also rely on iOS. Last year, it was revealed that the iPad was being used as part of a test pilot for Fastpass ride ticketing at the Magic Kingdom. There's also the official My Disney Experience application for iPhone and iPad, which offers Walt Disney World maps, official Disney Parks-provided wait times, Fastpass return times, and the ability to view menus and book dining reservations.

An iPod touch is shown being used as part of Disney's forthcoming Magic Band service.

Disney has plans to continue to roll out its revamped ticketing system at other Central Florida parks, and potentially at its other destinations around the world. However, the company told AppleInsider that because all of its parks are different, the program will not look exactly the same at each location.The changes are part of a larger initiative at Disney known as "MyMagic+," which will eventually employ an RFID-equipped wrist band known as the "MagicBand."

The ultimate goal, the company said, is to make the experience more seamless, and to allow Disney cast members to more easily focus on the needs of visitors. Rather than requiring customers to go to a guest service window, as they have done in the past, someone in the park with an iPad or iPod touch would instead help that person on the spot.

Disney's embrace of Apple products is not new, as the two companies have had a close relationship for years, driven by the fact that Apple co-founder Steve Jobs also helped to found the movie studio Pixar Animation Studios, responsible for Disney's blockbuster franchises such as "Toy Story." When Pixar was bought out by Disney, Jobs became the largest shareholder of Disney stock.

Disney CEO Bob Iger also joined the Apple Board of Directors in late 2011. Iger worked closely with Jobs to bring Disney's content to iTunes, at a time when other studios hesitated to ink a deal with Apple.

Disney also turned to Jobs in 2009 in an effort to overhaul its own retail stores located in the U.S. and Europe. At the time, Jobs told Disney executives to "dream bigger," and provided access to proprietary information about how Apple has developed and operated its own highly successful retail operations. Like at Walt Disney World, the changes prompted Disney to utilize iPod touches for mobile checkout.

-Via Appleinsider

Apple's Cook reportedly meets with Beats CEO to discuss music streaming service

A report late Tuesday claims to have inside knowledge of a meeting that took place in late February, where Cook and Beats Audio CEO and hip-hop mogul Jimmy Iovine discussed a music service dubbed "Project Daisy."

Citing people familiar with the matter, Reuters reported that Apple's chief of media Eddy Cue also joined the meeting, which was said to be "informational" as it covered a wide range of music-related topics including Beats' "Project Daisy" music streaming service. The sources say that while Cook expressed interest in the service's business model and future plans, no official deal was struck.

When outlining the "Daisy" subscription-based service to AllThingsD in January, Iovine let slip that he planned to meet with Cue "soon," but offered no further details on the matter. During the same interview, the Beats chief executive said he pitched a similar idea to late Apple cofounder Steve Jobs in 2001. Jobs was supposedly interested in the concept, Iovine said, but "he didn't want to pay record companies enough," believing that the economics would eventually become more favorable. 

Iovine, who besides co-owning Beats is chairman of music label Interscope-Geffen-A&M, has a long history with Apple and was one of the first industry executives to ink a deal over what would become iTunes. 

Apple has been rumored to be working on building out some type of streaming music service that will compete with the likes of existing offerings from Rhapsody, MOG and Rdio. Some reports even claim an Apple-branded solution will launch by the end of 2013.

-Appleinsider

Swatch CEO doesn't believe Apple's rumored 'iWatch' is next tech revolution

Investors and tech observers are abuzz about the possibilities of a so-called Apple "iWatch," but the CEO of Swatch is skeptical about just how much such a device could replace Apple's iPhone, saying he doesn't believe such a device would be the next smart device revolution.

Speaking at a press conference on annual results in Grenchen, Switzerland, Swatch Group CEO Nick Hayek said that the primary difficulty in having a watch replace a smartphone would be display size. 

"Personally, I don't believe it's the next revolution," the head of the largest Swiss watchmaker said,according to Bloomberg . "Replacing an iPhone with an interactive terminal on your wrist is difficult. You can't have an immense display."

Hayek also noted that watch consumers often buy the items as jewelry items and often like to change them. Such behavior could represent an obstacle for Apple, as the physical style of any potential iWatch would not likely be readily changeable, though the visual possibilities enabled by a flexible display could mitigate that problem to an extent.

Swatch has had dealings with both Apple and Microsoft, consulting with the former on energy-harvesting technology and with the latter on bringing more interactive features to Swatch's watches. Bloombergnotes that Swatch, like Apple, has licensed Liquidmetal Technologies' alloys for use potential products. 

The rumored iWatch is believed to consist of a flexible display that would wrap around a user's wrist, displaying information from the user's iPhone. Apple is said to have a team of about 100 product designers working on the device. 

Rumor: Apple and Intel again mulling partnership to build A-series chips

A report on Thursday claims inside knowledge of reported negotiations between Apple and Intel, saying the chip maker may be looking to build ARM-based SoCs based for the Cupertino company's iOS device lineup. 

Citing a person familiar with one of the tech giants, Reuters reported that executives have over the past year discussed a possible partnership in which Intel's foundries would be used to manufacture Apple-designed chips. A deal has not yet been reached, the source said. 

Apple's latest A6 SoC powers the new iPhone 5. | Source: iFixit

This is not the first time rumors of an Apple-Intel partnership have cropped up. A report from May 2011 suggested that Intel showed interest in building Apple's A4 and A5 SoCs, though no action was taken and the idea was apparently shelved as the so-called Ultrabook initiative gained momentum. 

Intel is supposedly looking to shift its strategy as PC sales continue to slump as mobile devices, led by tablets like Apple's iPad, continue to gobble up marketshare. The firm has been looking to expand its foundry business, most recently agreeing to fabricate silicon based on technology from chip maker Altera.

While an agreement to start production of ARM SoCs would likely undercut adoption of Intel's own Atom mobile processor, the move might be necessary to keep pace with a quickly changing market. The report also speculates that Intel's replacement for CEO Paul Otellini, who plans to retire in May, may further diversify the company's contract operations in a bid to keep manufacturing facilities working at full capacity.

As for Apple, a move to Intel is easier to imagine, as the Mac lineup already runs on x86 processors. It has also been rumored that the company wants to distance itself from current A-series SoC manufacturer Samsung, with which it is ensnarled in a worldwide patent struggle. The Korean electronics giant is also Apple's biggest competition in the mobile marketplace, with a variety of Android-based devices going jockeying for position against iOS products like the iPhone and iPad.

-Appleinsider