Amazon Web Services (AWS), recently released several improvements to its Pinpoint mobile analytics solution. These include two-way SMS texting, and support for push notification services.
Pinpoint was first introduced at the 2016 reInvent conference. It allows mobile app developers to interact directly with their users via push notifications, e mails, and SMS texts. It also offers analytics capabilities that allow developers to track how users interact with their apps.
AWS added a two way text messaging feature to Pinpoint earlier this month. This allows developers to receive and respond directly to messages from users of their apps. AWS announced that the feature offers new opportunities for developers of mobile apps and customer-interaction scenarios.
Pinpoint can be used by a pharmacy to send a message asking customers if they would like to continue with the refill. The customer can reply to the message with a “yes” answer or a “no”. Pinpoint will then process the customer’s response. If it’s “yes”, the app prompts their pharmacy to refill their prescription.
Randall Hunt, AWS evangelist, gave a blog post Tuesday describing the new two-way communication capability. He wrote that SMS is an area of ongoing investment for AWS. Customers can expect to receive more improvements and advances as they give feedback on the new features.
Support for ADM & Baidu Cloud Push
Pinpoint supports Apple Push Notifications and Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM), which allow app developers to send push notifications directly to their users.
AWS has extended its support for two other push notification services this week: Baidu Cloud Push (a Chinese Internet giant Baidu) and Amazon Device Messaging.
Pinpoint developers will now be able to program push notifications for Amazon devices, such as the Kindle Fire tablet. AWS announced Thursday. The Baidu support allows Pinpoint developers access to millions of Chinese mobile app users, many of which are using Android devices.
Pinpoint also works with APN sandbox environments and APN.p8 authentication keys. APNs.p8 tokens enable you to use one authentication token across all your apps. APNs.p8 tokens remove the frustration of dealing avec expired certificates,” AWS stated. You can test your notifications in the APNs Sandbox Environment before you ship your apps.
Integration with Cognito User Pools
Pinpoint news now works with Amazon Cognito user pool to provide richer data about app users, AWS announced Tuesday.
Cognito is a service that allows mobile and web developers to integrate sign-in and sign up functionality into their apps. Cognito’s User Pools allows developers to create and manage their app’s user directory.
AWS announced that Pinpoint integration will allow developers to “track User Pool signups, sign ins, failed authentications and daily active users (DAUs), and monthly active users, (MAUs),”. This data can be sorted by date range, app version and device location, as well as operating system.
