Mobeam Launches Music Video at Mobile World Congress to Showcase How Its Technology Will Revolutionize the Way We Shop

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SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 21, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Mobeam®(www.mobeam.com) today launched an innovative new music video to showcase what will happen when the more than 165 million Point of Sale (POS) laser scanners in use today are capable of scanning barcoded content on a smartphone using mobeam's technology. While many companies tout their products as the solution in mobile commerce, no company has been able to crack the code of scanning a barcode at checkout – until now. Mobeam has patented technology that will revolutionize the way we all shop by enabling smartphones to be scanned by POS scanners, unlocking new potential for marketers and providing consumers the ability to seamlessly redeem coupons, gift cards and loyalty cards from their smartphone.

To view the multimedia assets associated with this release, please click: http://www.multivu.com/mnr/60313-mobeam-innovative-new-music-video-portal-a

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130221/MM60200)

The music video was produced by Portal A (http://portal-a.com/), San Francisco's hottest creative team and experts in web video. The video, "MOBEAM! The Supermarket Musical" will be officially released at a red carpet premiere to the media and attendees at Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona on Sunday.

Watch the video here: http://youtu.be/4F0G5MUVO4s

"There's a new phone app scheme that makes shopping a dream - Coming Soon to Screens Everywhere." – MOBEAM! The Supermarket Musical

Currently, anything that uses a barcode, such as a coupon, loyalty card, gift card, pre-loaded payment card or event ticket still needs to be printed out or carried to be redeemed, the vast majority of the time. Mobeam's technology converts barcodes into a beam of light that can be read by every one of the estimated 165 million laser scanners in use today by retailers around the world. It uses common light sources on a smartphone to send pulses of light directly to the sensor in POS scanners, mimicking the black-and-white sequencing of a standard bar code. Instead of reading the reflection from a printed barcode, laser scanners receive identical information from pulses of light – meaning that existing POS scanner technology and databases that are already installed worldwide won't require any upgrades.

"We created this fun, Glee-styled music video to highlight the life-altering changes our technology will provide when the world's smartphones are finally able to work at the point of sale with the 165 million laser scanners in use today," said Chris Sellers, CEO of mobeam. "Right now, many people think they can go to the grocery store, show a coupon on their phone and have it scanned – which unfortunately is not the case. The vast majority of in-store laser scanners cannot scan barcodes displayed on mobile phone screens. Through this video, we are saying, there IS a way, we've developed it and it's called mobeam."

More than 500 million people around the world are expected to receive mobile coupons this year, a 30% increase from 2012. Additionally, Juniper Research found that for 2013, the number of coupons accessed and redeemed by mobile is forecasted to come in around 10 billion discounts in total, representing a more than 50 percent increase from last year.

"This is definitely the most ambitious video we have done and we are honored that mobeam has chosen to launch it internationally at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona," said Zach Blume, managing director and co-founder of Portal A. "We love working with the most innovative companies around and we think mobeam's technology is going to be a game-changer that revolutionizes the mobile industry, ignites mobile commerce and changes the way we think about our wallet."

In the past year, mobeam has partnered with Procter & Gamble (P&G), Coca-Cola and General Mills – three of the world's largest consumer packaged goods companies, in a joint effort to create the first-ever completely mobile couponing system. This initiative, along with other partnerships mobeam has established with companies like ProLogic, brings consumers one-step closer to phasing out paper coupons entirely.

"We are excited about the potential for this new technology and our partnership with mobeam to make shopping simpler and faster for consumers. Couponing is a great way for shoppers to try new products or save on the trusted brands their families have come to love. If that can be easier, faster and less costly for shoppers and retailers, we want to help bring it to life," said Jeff Weedman, vice president of P&G Global Business Development.

Mobeam will be demonstrating their technology all week at MWC. While the technology has not been released on a handset yet, Mobeam is currently in confidential negotiations with several prominent manufacturers to bring mobeam to mobile devices around the world.

The music video was released in conjunction with a social media campaign and contest on Facebook and Twitter that gives a free mobeam t-shirt to the first 1,000 people that share the video on Facebook. To participate in the contest, visit www.mobeam.com/contest.

For more information on mobeam, visit www.mobeam.com.

For more information on Portal A, visit http://www.portal-a.com.

For more information on Mobile World Congress, visit: http://www.mobileworldcongress.com.

To watch a "How It Works" tutorial of Mobeam's technology, visit: http://www.mobeam.com/how-it-works/ 

About mobeam
Mobeam, inc. is transforming mobile commerce with its unique and patented light based communications technology. The company was recently named one of the fastest growing technology companies in San Francisco, by business research firm, Lead411. Overcoming the technical barrier preventing mobile phones from interacting with laser scanners at checkout, mobeam's technology provides universal access at point of sale (POS), enabling the transmission of coupons, loyalty offers, gift cards, tickets and other barcode data at retailers worldwide. Mobeam's technology creates new capabilities for existing mobile phone designs, and requires no changes to retailer POS infrastructure. Mobeam is headquartered in San Francisco, California. For more information visit http://www.mobeam.com.

About Portal A
The video was produced by Portal A, a creative studio based in San Francisco and Los Angeles that produces and distributes video content built for the web. In a recent front-page profile, the San Francisco Chronicle wrote "...the twenty-something principals are in growing demand nationally to create viral political ads" and Wired Magazine wrote that "...after a string of web hits, Portal A, more than any other creative firm, has cracked the code of viral video." More of their work can be found at www.portal-a.com.

SOURCE Mobeam