MasterCard and Samsung team to bring new mobile commerce services to consumers

Several organizations involved in the mobile commerce space have begun showing off their new projects at the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada. These companies have been showcasing innovative products that may revolutionize the mobile commerce space. MasterCard is one of these companies, which has introduced a new mobile application that will allow consumers to order food and groceries from their refrigerator. MasterCard has partnered with Samsung to make this possible.

Groceries by MasterCard brings a new twist to the mobile shopping space

The new app is called Groceries by MasterCard and can be used by those with a Samsung Family Hub refrigerator. Using the app, consumers will be able to place orders for food and groceries, which can be either delivered to their homes or can be picked up at a local store. MasterCard and Samsung are not the only companies bringing innovation to the mobile commerce space, of course, as Huawei, an electronics company based in China, has also introduced new mobile devices that could make mobile commerce more convenient.

Huawei introduces new phones that offer better security features and extended battery life

Last year, Huawei, which is the third largest maker of smartphones in the world, introduced a smartphone with a battery system that can be used to power other devices. This year, the company has introduced two new phones, which can last longer than two days of uninterrupted performance before needing to be charged. The phones also include fingerprint scanners, which will allow consumers to protect their sensitive information more easily. This could be a boon for those interested in mobile commerce, as these devices will protect financial information.

Mobile commerce is growing aggressively in China

Mobile commerce is growing quickly throughout the world, but Asia is seeing the most significant growth. China, in particular, is becoming one of the world’s leading mobile commerce markets, especially as more consumers gain access to smartphones that provide convenient services. Innovation in the mobile commerce space is likely to encourage consumers to use their mobile devices to get their shopping done more frequently.

The busy New York City airport is trying out a new way to try to reduce waiting time through tech.

A new technology based test is now underway at JFK Airport in New York City, which involves tracking the signals from passenger mobile phones in order to reduce the length of lines and, therefore, the amount of time people spend waiting as they make their way to board their planes and as they progress through the arrivals process.

This is the busiest commercial airport in the city and is known for presenting some usage challenges.

Due to the confusion many passengers routinely feel as they attempt to use JFK Airport, the facility is aiming to use the technology in mobile phones to shorten lineups and wait times to provide at least a little bit of relief from the overall stress being felt. In this effort, new geolocation technology devices have been installed in the airport’s Terminal Four. The tech is from Blip Systems, a Denmark based company, and it works to track the movements of passengers as they make their way through the areas of the airport that experience the highest levels of congestion.

The use of mobile phones makes this program different from what most other airports have tried.

Similar types of strategy have been made in other airports around the world. For instance, in London City Airport, cameras have been used to add a “pixel” on the heads of passengers as they move throughout the airport. The geolocation technology from Blip doesn’t require the use of cameras as it tracks the signals from mobile phones, instead.

Sensors have been placed in strategic points throughout Terminal Four. Those sensors are able to detect devices that have been Bluetooth or WiFi enabled, such as smartphones, tablets and even e-readers. The information collected is the movement of that person, the length of time they spend waiting in a specific location and their level of flow when traveling from one location to the next, within the facility.

According to Blip, in a description of the way the mobile phones are used for movement tracking, “When a device passes the sensors, its non-personal unique ID – called a MAC address – is recorded, encrypted and time-stamped. By re-identifying the device from multiple sensors, the travel times, dwell times and movement patterns become available.”