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News
Issue #2001 - 16
(Apr. 2001)
(Updated
April 18, 2001)
PRODUCTS,
SERVICES & APPLICATIONS
The m-Commerce Lifestyle: Order, Purchase, Reserve Stuff
Wirelessly
Depending on whom you
speak to mobile commerce can
mean anything from maintaining customer loyalty to offering
convenience to conducting a secure transaction to a combination of
all three. In essence, it is another channel for merchants to reach
their customers.
At present, a host of m-commerce applications are undergoing
field trials or implementation and among them is one that makes
ordering pizza a breeze, another that aims to eliminate the paper
tickets, and yet another that makes reserving a restaurant table
effortless.
Pizza to Go
Motorola, Inc. along with Domino’s Pizza, and Verizon Wireless
have launched a two-month "Pizzacast" trial in Las Vegas.
Verizon subscribers can order a meal using their wireless phone. Via
Verizon Wireless Mobile Web, they can select their favorite pizza,
toppings, side orders, beverages, method of payment, and delivery
address.
By participating in the Pizzacast trial, the companies are hoping
to learn what is needed to make m-commerce a time-saving and
compelling experience for customers, and as such are exploring a
portfolio of m-commerce solutions including
- Point-of-sale and point-of-purchase m-commerce applications
- A proprietary database management system
- An order profiling system
Two for "Traffic"
The U.K. company mTicket has launched a new service enabling
moviegoers or club goers to pay for cinema seats or club passes by
credit card using their wireless phone or PC. After registering at www.clubconnexion.com,
users can enter the vendor’s site to make their purchases. They
will receive a ticket message on their cellphone, which acts as a
substitute for the traditional paper ticket. Just show the SMS
message at the venue as proof of payment.
According to the company, the mobile ticket delivery service via
SMS cuts the cost of printing and issuing paper tickets to a
fraction.
Table for Two
OverNet Data plc and QuadraNet plc will unveil what they claim will
be Europe’s first wireless restaurant booking application for
users of GPRS-enabled smartphones and handheld computers.
Both companies developed Livebooking Mobile using OverNet Data’s
mobile application platform software, BALI™, and QuadraNet’s
livebookings.com, an on-line reservation portal.
Customers can check real-time availability and book a table from
any mobile location. Reservations are registered with the restaurant
and confirmed immediately.
The service will go live in this summer.
For more information: www.motorola.com;
www.mticket.com;
www.overnetdata.com
Mobileinfo Comments and Advisory: The
applications in this news item are demonstrations of useful
applications for the consumer that will expand the use of m-commerce.
M-commerce will evolve as an alternate channel for the active yuppies
first and then flow into the mainstream - not overnight but over the
years. This may not bring enough business to operators in the short
run but only
self-serving forecasters told them what they wanted to hear. Network
operators and portals - please be patient with your ROI expectations
about m-commerce. These simple applications can and will work with
current 2G networks.
Note: This news release may contain
forward-looking statements. Readers should take appropriate caution in
developing plans utilizing these products, services and technology
architectures. All trademarks used in this summary are
the property of their respective owners.
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