Scanbuy Awarded Two Patents for Decoding and Enhancing Barcodes for Mobile Devices

NEW YORK, Feb. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Scanbuy, Inc., (http://www.scanbuy.com/) a global provider of wireless commerce solutions today announced it has been granted two U.S. patents. The first patent addresses a method for decoding and analyzing barcodes using a mobile device to transmit and access information via WAP, SMS, or MMS. The second is focused on a system that provides an algorithm designed to enhance images of barcodes to facilitate the decoding process.

US Patent No. 7,156,311, describing a system for decoding barcodes using a mobile device like a cell phone equipped with a digital camera, uses software located on the mobile device to enhance the barcode image and subsequently decode the barcode information. The software uses the camera to read the barcode, transmit the decoded information to a server in multiple ways such as WAP, SMS, or MMS, and then connects the device via a wireless network to the corresponding media content and/or information.

U.S. patent No. 7,168,621 named "section based algorithm for image enhancement" provides a process for enhancing images of barcodes that can compensate for many shortcomings of camera-equipped mobile devices, allowing many more images captured by camera-phones to be decoded, and as a result enhances users' decoding experience.

"The patents we've been granted demonstrate the depth and strength of Scanbuys, ever growing, IP portfolio, and, more importantly, help to position Scanbuy as the partner of choice for handset manufacturers, carriers, content providers and advertisers," said Jonathan Bulkeley, Chief Executive Officer of Scanbuy, Inc.

Scanbuy software works on most mobile handheld devices with a camera and Internet connection -- and can enable the connection of physical objects to the Internet. The company was recently listed as "A Company to Watch in 2007" by Microsoft's Don Dodge.

About Scanbuy

Scanbuy (http://www.scanbuy.com/) is a global provider of mobile solutions allowing consumers to access mobile commerce and mobile marketing services in a simple and intuitive way. Scanbuy's barcode-capture technology and services platforms are designed for handset manufacturers, wireless carriers, content providers and retailers to enable swift navigation from the handset to the physical world. Scanbuy is widely acknowledged as the leading solution provider in this emerging market which displays strong growth potential for the consumer wireless market throughout the world. Founded in New York in March 2000, Scanbuy is led by a pioneer in media and e-commerce and has a strong intellectual property portfolio with over 25 patents filed in the US and internationally since 2001. Scanbuy made Fortune's 2005 list of "25 Breakout Companies" and the "Top 100 Companies in North America" in Red Herring in 2006. The company's investors include Longworth Venture Partners, Masthead Venture Partners and Hudson Ventures.