Following up on Samsung's announcement today, Mobeam is saying that its barcode transmission technology is going to be integrated into the Galaxy S4 software. Mobeam's patented technology allows phones to mimic the characteristics of a standard 1-D barcode so that laser scanners used in most POS (Point Of Sale) systems can read them. Typically these laser scanners can't read smart phone screens, so Mobeam gets around this by having the device send pulses of light that mimic the reflection of scanning a barcode. It's pretty technical (and secretive, naturally) but the end result is that the phone can store barcodes for coupons, gift cards, event tickets and more.
This is an interesting development considering Samsung just announced its Wallet app at MWC, which aims to offer tickets, membership passes and coupons on devices. We could see Samsung integrating this Mobeam software solution into an app like Wallet to offer better payment options. We'll have a better idea of Samsung's plans once we dive deeper into the software on the Galaxy S4.
Source: Mobeam (BusinessWire); Mobeam
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