Stefan Mileschin

For over a year, mobile commerce startup Mobeam has been looking for OEM suitors willing to embed its bar code scanning tech into phones -- and it's found an ideal partner in Samsung. The tech, which Mobeam calls light based communications (LBC), will be embedded in the manufacturer's latest flagship, the Galaxy S 4. LBC makes it possible for point-of-sale scanners to pick up digital 1D bar codes. So how does it work? Mobeam takes advantage of the phone's proximity sensor to beam pulses of light which mimic your standard black-and-white code. The option should be available for any third-party developer that wants to use it, but unfortunately the tech is only launching -- for now, at least -- on the GS 4, though we've been told that it will eventually be ready to go for more devices down the road. Head below to scan through the full press release for yourself.

http://www.engadget.com/2013/03/14/s...am-galaxy-s-4/