Samsung introduced at the MWC in Barcelona, Spain a new app called "Wallet," which bears striking resemblance to rival Apple's own Passbook feature. The Wallet app is designed to let users store things such as event tickets, boarding passes, membership cards, and coupons in one central location. Wallet also offers time and location-based push notifications to alert users when they are near a store or location that uses the passes stored in their account, and provides real-time updates for membership cards and boarding passes. The app API is still in beta at this time, although Samsung has already announced a decent roster, which includes Hotels.com, Lufthansa, Expedia, Walgreens, Belly, Major League Baseball Advanced Media and Booking.com. Samsung is allowing developers to get an early start on things with the API ahead of the March 7th launch.
What Else You Need To Know
- There's no NFC integration (for now) because, according to Samsung, retailers prefer to use bar codes over NFC.
- Apple has accused Samsung for copying the iPad the iPhone while Samsung has also claimed that Apple's devices are infringing on Samsung wireless technology.
- The companies have sued each other in courts from more than a dozen countries around the world, with mixed results.
Other sources
Of course, Apple is hardly innocent in all this and has borrowed from plenty of companies in the past as well.- Zach Epstein, BGR
- Samsung Hub
- Samsung unveils Samsung Wallet, invites developers for API access
- Other
- Samsung takes a page from Apple's Passbook with new Wallet app
- The Next Web
- Samsung unveils ‘Wallet’, an Android alternative to Apple’s Passbook
- Engadget
- Samsung announces Android Wallet app for tickets and coupons, opens API to developers
- Gizmodo
- Samsung Wallet is Apple's Passbook, on Android
- Mashable
- Samsung Launches Wallet App for Android
- Phones Review
- Samsung Wallet app unveiled at MWC 2013
- Apple Insider
- Samsung's new Wallet app has numerous similarities to Apple's Passbook
- Mobile Burn
- Samsung Wallet announced as an Android alternative for Apple Passbook
- Android Police
- Samsung Shows Off New Passbook-Like 'Wallet' App And API At MWC
- More...