Mobeam's new app digitizes loyalty cards, exclusive to Note 3 and GS4
Last time we've heard of Mobeam, it formed a partnership with Samsung to bring its barcode-scanning tech to the Galaxy S 4. Now, the company has launched a new app on Google Play called Beep'nGo, which digitizes membership, gift and loyalty cards and allows them to be read by ordinary laser scanners. While potentially useful -- who wouldn't want to leave some of those plastic rectangles at home? -- it only works on phones sporting Mobeam's proprietary technology. For now, that means the Galaxy S 4 and the Note 3 only, although the San Francisco startup is looking to expand to more devices. Samsung faithfuls who see themselves using the Beep'nGo app frequently can head past the jump for the press release and a video of how Mobeam's tech works.
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Mobeam Launches Beep'nGo Application - Millions of Consumers Can Now Use Their Smartphone at Checkout
Beep'nGo and core Mobeam platform available on Samsung Galaxy S4 and Samsung Galaxy Note 3
PALO ALTO, Calif., Sep 04, 2013 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Mobeam today officially launched its Beep'nGo application on the Google Play app store for Android. Beep'nGo gives consumers the ability to keep all of their loyalty, gift and membership cards right on their smartphone and "beam" them straight to the scanners already in millions of stores.
Beep'nGo is exclusively available on the Samsung Galaxy S4 and the Samsung Galaxy Note 3, which was unveiled today at the Samsung Unpacked event in Berlin. The core Mobeam platform for barcodes will also be activated for use by the Samsung Wallet on the Galaxy S4 and the Galaxy Note 3.
"Consumers are ready to use their smartphones for mobile commerce, but so far the industry hasn't been able to deliver," said President and CEO, Kang M. Lee. "With Beep'nGo, people can easily use their smartphone instead of a plastic card at grocery and department stores, gyms and millions of other retail outlets. Powered by Mobeam, the Beep'nGo application is designed to simplify people's lives while it saves them time and money."
For Beep'nGo, consumers simply download the application to their Galaxy S4 or Galaxy Note 3. To use the application, they just select a loyalty, gift or membership card to redeem, push the "beam" button and point the smartphone screen to send the card's barcode to any of the millions of laser scanners in use today. Earlier this year, Samsung said retailers prefer barcodes because they do not have to install any new infrastructure.
"Mobeam is going to change the way we spend money, no more need for plastic cards or wallets, now that ANY store scanner can read my phone," said Jeb Brilliant, the founder and chief blogger of The Mobile Perspective.
Mobeam's beaming technology, embedded in the smartphone, solves the key problem that has limited the progress of mobile commerce: widely deployed retail laser scanners are unable to scan a barcode presented on a smartphone screen. Mobeam overcomes this obstacle without requiring retailers to invest in new point-of-sale hardware or system upgrades. The Beep'nGo application unleashes the power of Mobeam technology that is integrated in the newest Samsung devices.
In March, Mobeam announced the Samsung Galaxy S4 smartphone as the world's first mobile device to integrate Mobeam's light based communications technology. VentureBeat noted, "Mobeam's technology could be an essential piece of the mobile payments puzzle." Mobeam continues to build momentum with the Samsung Galaxy Note 3, the second device to feature Mobeam's core technology, and the introduction of the Beep'nGo application for consumers worldwide.
