Samsung launched Proximity on Wednesday, a technology that delivers content to customers' smartphones based on their location.
If you think that sounds familiar, you're right: Its features resemble Apple's iBeacon. According to Samsung's presentation on Proximity, it will deliver in-store offers to shoppers, welcome messages to stadium-goers, mobile tours to museum visitors and the like.
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Proximity tracks your device in relation to Bluetooth Low Energy-enabled beacons and serves various bits of info. For example, if you're near a beacon at an airport, you could receive a list of duty-free promotions, vacation deals and information about your flight.
The technology is a three-part service, including an end-user app for receiving coupons and other location-based discounts, a web console for marketers to manage campaigns and view analytics, and another app for managing beacons and marketing campaigns while you're on the go.
This suite of tools available at launch is the biggest difference between Proximity and iBeacon; the latter relies on third-party developer support. Samsung does offer an SDK for Proximity, called Placedge, which allows apps on Samsung devices to detect and transmit beacon signals and offer their own location-based content.