If there's one thing that no one can deny about Samsung, it's that the company knows a good product when it sees one — even if its new app comes via Google or Apple.
In this case, Samsung's new Wallet app derives from both: it stores tickets just like Apple's Passbook, and takes its name from Google's Wallet, which is an easier way to arrange and use credit cards. Samsung's app, which eliminates the need to carry physical tickets around, has just been released to developers during a conference at MWC.
The developers can only download SDK and API guides for now, but the app will be available in Samsung's app store soon. Samsung has formed partnerships with Walgreens, Belly, Major League Baseball Advanced Media, Expedia, Booking.com, Hotels.com and Lufthansa for launch, and plans to work with even more companies once the app is actually available.
Many people have noted its similarity to Apple's Passbook, mostly in its icon design, which features vectors of tickets fanned out in a wallet. Google and Microsoft both have applications that serve similar functions (with varying icons), though Samsung's application does not use near-field communications technology, citing ticket vendors who prefer barcodes so they would not have to change equipment to accommodate NFC devices. Despite this early lack of NFC functionality, Samsung has recently announced a partnership with Visa and will ship future smartphones with its PayWave service, TheVerge reports.
Imitation isn't all bad, as Wired's Clive Thompson would say; in fact, it can even help innovate. Given enough time and development, Samsung would probably differentiate Wallet enough from Passbook to quell the claims that it is too similar, down to the interface.
This is unlikely to result in another copyright infringement case against Samsung, but the Korean tech giant and Apple are already fighting it out in over 50 different cases in ten countries, so it probably wouldn't make a dent even if Apple did decide to sue over the similar designs.
