Here’s an assortment of beacons with different characteristics:
- Top left: AnkhMaway, battery-powered, 25 meters
- Top right: AnkhMaway, battery-powered, 100 meters
- Bottom left: AnkhMaway, USB-powered, 70 meters
- Bottom right: Estimote, battery-powered, 50 meters
The top ones have buzzers, that signal when you bump the beacons to indicate they are configurable.
It was relatively easy to reconfigure the ID values (that I reset to Estimote UUID), but I have yet to figure out how the USB one is configured.
In practical use, there’s no doubt a continuously powered one is best, provided there’s any mains nearby. You can turn power up to max, if the situation allows it, and maximize the ping frequency, for maximum reach and best user experience.