Tag: samsung galaxy s4

Galaxy S4 has bulks up with mobile commerce technology

Samsung reveals Galaxy S4

Samsung this week revealed its highly anticipated Galaxy S4, only 9 months after the release of the massively successful Galaxy S III. The Galaxy S4 is packed with several upgrades that make it a bit more powerful than its predecessor, but the new mobile device’s potential use in mobile commerce is attracting the most attention. Like its predecessor, the Galaxy S4 is expected to have a strong focus on mobile commerce, allowing users to make mobile payments and shop online using their device.

New device equipped with Mobeam technology

The Galaxy S4 will be equipped with new technology that has been developed by mobile commerce startup Mobeam. Mobeam has been on the search for partners since it announced the development of its barcode scanning technology for mobile devices. The technology is capable of scanning barcodes, such as QR codes, like simple barcode scanning applications. The technology does, however, provide something new in that it enables point-of-sale scanners to scan barcodes that are presented on the screen of  the Galaxy S4.

Mobeam makes barcodes important again

Mobeam calls the technology “light based communications,” or LBC. This technology works by using the priximity sensors of the Galaxy S4 to beam light pulses that mimic barcode patterns. This allows point-of-sale scanners to register the device’s barcodes. Using Mobeam’s LBC would allow consumers to scan the barcode of a particular product and have this barcode scanned at point-of-sale in order to make a purchase. This could also be used to take advantage of the various price-matching initiatives that several retailers have in place.

Technology could be available for third-party developers in the future

Mobeam’s technology is currently exclusive to the Galaxy S4, but Samsung suggests that it could be available for third-party developers at some point in the future. The technology has some promising implications for mobile commerce, especially as consumers become more interested in making use of QR codes and other such tools.

Mobile payments partnership between Samsung and Visa won’t define the market

Mobile Payments partnership Samsung and VisaThough these two industry giants are working together, it is still unlikely that it will be enough.

Samsung and Visa have recently announced their mobile payments partnership that will have the PayWave app automatically installed in all of the Galaxy S4 smartphones, but most experts in the industry agree that this still won’t be enough to lead to mass adoption of the service.

This channel has seen considerable struggles in getting started, but this likely won’t be enough to make the difference.

It is particularly unlikely that this extra step toward mobile payments will lead to much of a difference overnight. The partnership brings the Visa service together with the Samsung NFC technology that would allow consumers to use their smartphones to tap a reader at a point of sale in order to quickly and easily complete a purchase transaction.

The devices with the mobile payments technology and app will become available next week.

It is unlikely that the mobile payments will begin to occur with any great impact as of that point. Experts feel that while this type of move is important so that potential users will have the technology that is required to actually use a wallet over their smartphones, those owners still don’t quite have the desire to use it as of yet.

Eden Zoller, a researcher from Ovum, said that “Ovum’s consumer survey showed that usage of mobile payments is still very low for most people and this clearly needs to be change if mobile payments are to become mainstream.” That said, she also pointed out that it is still very important to add the NFC technology equipped devices to the market so that as users become interested, they will have what is needed and be familiar with it.

Similarly, Forrester analyst Clement Teo said that adding the payWave app from Visa is only one of a large number of efforts that will be needed to plunge the world into the use of mobile payments. He pointed out that there are many players, and they will all need to align for the explosion of use to actually occur.

Teo added that “The popularity of Samsung handsets is but one factor for mobile payments, but it also depends on the type of payments.”