I spent the last 4 days in Barcelona, Spain attending the largest mobile technology trade show in the world called Mobile World Congress.  I was on the hunt to find some interesting companies to write about but in my typical Phone.com fashion it was the small businesses that really caught my eye.  One in particular called MoBeam has the potential to change the way we shop and pay for items.

MoBeam utilizes the infrared beam used as a proximity sensor in most handsets to beam out information.  This is a preexisting technology built into all touchscreen phones. Usually the IR is used to tell the phone when it’s pressed against your head so it can turn off the screen.  In this case by broadcasting data from this port it can be read by scanners.  The exciting thing is, it’s not just any scanners.  It’s all scanners that you find in stores at point of sale machines.  So all the cash registers at the grocery store, the handheld scanners at big box stores and all the other scanners around the world used for sales should be able to now read the information that is displayed on your phone screen.  Starbucks had to distribute special scanners to all their locations in every country that you could get their smartphone app because the traditional scanners they had couldn’t read the app on the phone screen.  This cost Starbucks millions and millions of dollars, they were a pioneer doing this but now it won’t be necessary to purchase and install new POS solutions.  

This is very important to small businesses, imagine being the first grocery store or electronics retailer in your city that tells their customers to come in and give this a try.  The novelty effect could drive business in your doors.  Grocery stores wouldn’t need customers to bring in coupons any longer, electronics stores could rely on gift cards to be in customers phones so they’re more likely to shop versus forgetting them at home.  Probably most importatnly though is that now for a SMB, they won’t have to spend additional money to keep up with current technologies.  

Personally my wife loves this idea, she carries a big green wallet I got her for her gift cards and coupons and this would relieve her of lugging that around in he purse all the time.  And what woman wouldn’t want to lighten her purse.  I think this has huge potential and hope they can get the support they need for the software to be preloaded on new phones.  Good luck MoBeam, make our lives easier.  

Whenever I come across a really good deal that might help our readers I like to share it with you. Box formerly known as Box.net is giving away 50GB of free cloud storage for life. If you’re not familiar with Box it’s similar to DropBox. Put very simply, they are a file repository in the cloud, you can upload or drag and drop files on your computer into them and then have them available on any computer, share the files with others or just use them as a locker.

Here’s a link to the Box promotion. I’m not sure how long this will last and it only takes a minute to sign up for. So if you’re even remotely interested I’d suggest jumping on it ASAP. The only down side I’ve read is that the free version of Box has 250mb file size limitation. meaning you can only transfer up to 250mb files. This probably won’t be a big problem for most people, I’ve only had issue with it when I’m trying to upload video.

Good luck and let us know what you think on Facebook or Twitter. Please remember, Phone.com has no affiliation with Box and we’re not suggesting you use them or promoting them. I’m just sharing a deal I thought might help you.

Options are what you have and choices are what you have to make while trying to stay in a small business budget but still getting what you need.

There’s a trend in smartphones that you’re bound to have noticed, it’s bigger and bigger screens. At the same time tablets are becoming an almost necessary business tool. So what do you do? Do you get 2 separate devices and spend what could be close to or even more than $1,000? Or take advantage of this new trend and get a big phone/small tablet?

There’s an entire category of smartphones now called the Phablet. It’s a rather odd name to me and I try not to use it to much but the fact is, it exists. Additionally it may be the best solution for your daily mobile technology needs.

The phablet is characterized on Wikipedia as “an informal class of smartphones with screen sizes ranging between 5 and 7 inches; these are primarily designed to combine the functionality of a smartphone with that of a tablet.”. Genius right? Some say yes others say no. AT&T was kind enough to give me a Galaxy Note 2 to review for a few days and I have to say, it was an amazing experience (just so we’re clear I’m not endorsing the phone). It was so big that I was happy to read the news on it, compose email comfortably and I even watched a movie in an airport lounge. On the other hand, it felt HUGE in my front jeans pocket. That was it’s only draw back. It fit great in my suit coat and it was a joy to use.

So what does this all mean to you? If it’s time to update your smartphone or even get your first a phablet should be on your radar. If you’re looking to downsize from a traditional size tablet like an iPad or again, you’re getting your first then let me repeat myself, the phablet should be on your radar.

A well respected blogger I read all the time named James Kendrick recently wrote that the Note 2 (a phablet) has changed the way he uses mobile technology. He doesn’t reach for his 7 inch Nexus tablet very often and he doesn’t even use his Google Nexus S 4G phone. It’s all about his phablet now. James explains that typically when he’d leave his house he would bring his phone and a small tablet. He wanted to have the tablet so he could read books and catch up on a little work here and there if he had a few minutes of down time. But now that he’s equipped himself with a phablet he only carries 1 device with him now when he goes out.

If you’re looking to save some money I suggest taking a look at a phablet, the Galaxy Note 2 is the most popular but there are many options. It can condense your smartphone and tablet into 1 device. It can also double as a desktop phone by running the Phone.com Mobile Voip app which will also work when you’re out and about with it. It could be a tremendous savings for your company’s bottom line, plus in my opinion it’s a pretty cool trend.