Apple unveiled a new app called Passbook at WWDC today. The app is designed to integrate passes and tickets from a variety of services, such as movie tickets, airline boarding passes, gifts cards, and others. It includes geo-location tracking, so when you drive by the neighborhood Starbucks your iPhone may send a push message that you still have $7.90 available to spend on your account.
Apple showed Passbook working with apps from companies like Target, United Airlines, Fandango, Amtrak, the W hotels, MLB.com, and the Apple store. The company said that developers can make use of Passbook within their own apps, making it easy for information to update when it changes.
At the WWDC demo, Apple presenters showed Passbook updating in real-time to denote a gate change.
There is an intriguing amount of potential utility here. The question is will companies jump aboard and embrace integrating their information into the Passbook app.
