Mobile Commerce

It is amazing how far the world of technology has come. From the dial up connection internet to wireless internet for metropolitan areas. I remember when my dad got his first Wap phone and I was amazed that he could get internet on his phone. I think I only got my first phone in those days and it was a Motorolla brick! By 2004 there were 1.5 Billion Wap phones. I never used one of those phones but I can imagine they were a lot slower than smart phones today. By 2005 there were 60 million wireless internet users. By 2006, 60% of internet was used from personal wireless devices. Now the wireless market is worth nearly 90 Billion worldwide.

Mobile phones are something that you bring everywhere with you. They can do so much in one simple device. Contact people, take photos, make recordings, listen to music, for the internet, play games and you can use any of the applications available. Instead of just bringing your purse and keys you bring a mobile phone too. This may have been something unthinkable 15 or 20 years ago. It is an all in one device.

M-Commerce is the use of the internet for purchasing goods and services and also for transmitting messages using wireless mobile devices. Businesses increasingly use wireless to cut costs, increase flexibility, and create new products and services. It helps businesses stay in touch with customers, suppliers and employees. This increases worker productivity as it takes less time to contact the suppliers etc. For businesses it has also been the source of new products, services and sales channels for example internet "hot spots". 

The wireless technologies have come a long way from 1G to 3G, Infrared, Bluetooth, Wifi and WiMax. Infrared is basic and used in remote controls, PDA's and phones. It requires 'line of sight' in order to work, but it is cheap to produce. Bluetooth is a small form of wireless communication and the cost of production is low and it works within a distance of 10 meters. Wifi is almost universally available and all laptops were wireless enabled by 2005. Although security has been a target of negative publicity so there is Wifi protected access. The cost of Wifi has come down dramatically but is still quite high.

I bought a Blackberry recently and I love it. I got a great deal for 20 euro per month I get free internet and free texts to any network. It is so handy for sending and receiving emails as I never have to use my laptop for this and I can send them anywhere I go. It also means I can use Wifi wherever I go because it is a smart phone. If I am waiting for any important emails and don't have access to a computer I can just check my phone. I can download thousands of apps so I am never really bored when I have my phone with me. I can Instant message my friends abroad who also have a Blackberry and it is free. Most of my friends have smart phones these days as there are so many out there now that are not too expensive. Smart phones are probably one of the most popular Christmas presents this year. I think soon everyone will have one and it will just be normal to have one. I heard from a friend that works in Coca Cola that all the staff were given Blackberry's for free and their bills are all paid for. This sounded like an advantage to me but he told me it is so they are always contactable and have no excuse about being away from their computers. So maybe for the employees it is more of an annoyance.

I wonder will Santa order online this year