Archive for the ‘Mobile Commerce’ Category

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Take card payments on your Nokia with TaxiPay

Wednesday, March 18th, 2009

Well this is rather neat.

A company by the name of Adelante is offering TaxiPay for mobile handsets. The service is targeted initially at Taxi Drivers who’d like to be able to take card payments with the minimum of fuss — it’s a really cool idea.

- It takes about a week to get setup with an account.
- You don’t need to have a merchant account. TaxiPay process the payments on your behalf — charging you for the privilege (6.5%) of course, but you can pass that on to the customers.
- The transaction details are encrypted
- Free to setup, you just pay as you go
- You’ve got to be a registered taxi driver to participate

It’s aimed at owner-drivers and I can see it being a total boon to them. It’s the sort of service I’d like to see more people having access to — so that when I get in the car and ask to be driven to [wherever] they can say yes and I can stick it on the company card. And avoid having to spend 20 minutes driving round looking for cashpoints.

I suspect that since it’s a Nokia handset in the demo, the service works for S60 devices.

It’d be rather interesting to see what would happen if this service was stuck on the iTunes App Store and made available to anyone who wanted to take card payments…

More details here: Adelante TaxiPay

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Posted in Mobile Commerce | Comments

The Highs and Lows of 2008.

Wednesday, December 31st, 2008

What an interesting year!
Since I joined the formerly SMS Text News/MIR team in July of this year, a lot has happened. But there has also been so much more too… And here are some of my highlights, or should I say, more notable occurrences!

The iPhone 3G! This was bound to appear somewhere, and so I thought it’s best to get it out of the way sooner, rather than later. Personally, I’m not a fan; and from what I’ve read, seen and heard accounts of, it hasn’t been all too great for Apple too. However, as much as I insist that it’s a pile of rubbish (feel free to beg to differ); it sold once again in its thousands.

Apple has conquered another market, and whether it’s because they found monopolising the MP3 market too easy, they’ve certainly made a statement. And even though the 3G came out way back in June/July the device still makes a regular appearance here on MIR. I do not doubt for a second that Apple have something lurking up their well-tailored sleeves, and if the rumours of an iPhone Nano are anything to go by… Then 2009 will be dominated with more Apples than your doctor can prescribe!

Secondly, Blyk! Hmm, well, me and Ricky between have more than enough to say on Blyk. For me, I was so hopeful that Blyk could be that turning point, especially here in the UK – where we ever so often fall behind in the world of technology and thought – and I was so disheartened with what eventually happened with them, it still annoys me now.

It can’t all be bad, and as much as I say I don’t like them and that their bound to fail… They haven’t yet. In fact, Blyk is over one year old now, and it still seems to be maintaining momentum. I think in 2009 we’ll either start to see how incredibly flawed Blyk’s aims and business model is; or dare I say it, it still surviving and the European expansion working out for the better for the company.

For me also, as I’ve begun to really take note and interest in the world of the Mobile Phone, I’ve seen certainly more usability on the rise, and a better use of SMS and mobile communications from businesses and services.

The “Knife Crime” Crime Stoppers text in service has to be, for me one of the single best things I have come across. It’s been implemented correctly in schools (well, at least in my school), without making itself appear too formal, and scary to use. And it’s using basic innovation, which as I know I have repeated many-a-time over the past few months; is severely lacking.

Slowly though, I’m beginning to see more and more use of mobile communications, for example my local hospital texting me when I have an upcoming appointment so I can’t forget; or my School using a system to ensure parents know if you’re not in school – when say you’re meant to be.

Hopefully over the next twelve months more of this good thinking and logic will be applied to other aspects of our general lives; and maybe with that, we might even get some more innovation out of that… And surely, that can only be a good thing?

Finally, my favourite mobile application… Well this has to go to MusicStation, which is available to Vodafone users. When I was first introduced to it by Ewan, I’ll admit I was majorly sceptical; I’m a music lover in every sense of the word. I don’t like the idea of being sold half-hearted 96kps versions of a song, or only having a minute and pointless library of music to download from; and this is all I expected to get.

I was wrong, and I loved the service. I haven’t yet seen it used by anyone I know on Vodafone, in fact, I’m not even sure if any of my friends are even aware of what they can get on their mobiles for a small fee per month; but if they did, then I do not doubt that it would be highly used by all of them.

Nokia I suppose are heading out in a similar direction, although I can’t comment on how the “Comes with Music” service works; I don’t doubt for a second that music services like the ones Vodafone and Nokia are offering are going to stop or end here.

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I look forward to the next year, and I look forward to the new technologies developing, and being released, and being pleasantly surprised as I have been this year. I also see that as much optimism that I have, one cannot forget the looming “recession” and what impact will that have? I dare not speculate, but for more than one reason I’m pretty sure next year will be interesting and something to look forward to!

Anyway, I wish you all a Happy New Year!

Samantha.
samantha@mobileindustryreview.com

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Posted in Apple, Applications, Blyk, Devices, MMS, Mobile, Mobile Applications, Mobile Commerce, Mobile Development, Mobile Services, Operators, Opinion, SMS, iPhone | Comments

UK Rail Agrees Mobile Ticketing Standard

Friday, December 19th, 2008

Nick Dillon, on behalf of the chaps at secure mobile specialist, Masabi, dropped me a briefing note on the state of mobile ticketing on UK railways.

It makes interesting reading:

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Hi Ewan,

I thought you might be interested to hear that the Association of Train Operating Companies, (which represents all UK rail operators) has introduced an industry-wide mobile ticketing standard based on 2D barcodes. This standard means that rail operators are now able to sell mobile tickets which can be used on other rail operator’s networks, thus removing a major hurdle to mobile ticketing.

I’ve put a bit of information and background on the standard below – please let me know if you need any further info or would like to speak to Masabi, the company which developed the standard. You can see what the barcode looks like here: http://www.masabi.com/solutions_ticketing.html.

[ Ewan: Here's some screenshots ]

State of the Market

* As it stands today some of the more pioneering rail operators have started offering mobile ticketing across some of their routes. These include National Express (who bought GNER), as well as Virgin, Heathrow Express and Chiltern Railways.
* This typically allows commuters to buy a ticket on a web site which is then delivered by an encrypted SMS or MMS to their handset and comes in the form of a 2D barcode. When they travel the ticket inspector simply uses a barcode scanner to read the ticket on their phone.
* As you’re undoubtedly aware mobile tickets have not yet become a widespread phenomenon. This is due to a few important reasons:-
o First off, it is fundamentally difficult to develop a secure ticket that cannot be fraudulently recreated which would obviously enable people to make their own free tickets
o Secondly, existing rail operator mobile ticket services require a PC to buy the ticket but for the service to be much more successful commuters need to be able to buy and display tickets on their handset wherever they are thereby creating the killer convenience factor. 88% of tickets are bought at the station You can imagine how useful it would be to buy a ticket once you’ve got on the train or on your way to the station or even when you’re at the station and there is a queue for the ticket machines
o Thirdly, it is crucial that the tickets work on mass market handsets not just smart phones. For example there’s been a lot of excitement around NFC, the communications technology used in Oyster cards, but to date NFC has only found its way into a couple of phones. Any system needs to work on all phones.
o Finally, the few mobile ticketing solutions on the market all use different systems so commuters can’t buy a ticket that goes across multiple rail operators.

The New Standard

* With these issues in mind ATOC (the Association of Train Operating Companies), which is owned by and represents all UK rail operators, decided to introduce an industry-wide mobile ticketing standard and brought on us at Masabi to put it together.
* The result is we now have a finalised 2d bar code standard that overcomes all of the aforementioned mobile ticketing difficulties.
* All the rail operators now have a system at their disposal with the highest level of security to ensure that mobile ticketing fraud can’t take place.
* The 2d bar code contains all information about the ticket so there is no need to for the ticket inspector’s machines to check any database. This enables commuters to buy mobile tickets at any point, including on the phone, so they don’t need to be bought on the web before-hand.
* The 2d bar code works on 90% of mobile handsets i.e. Any mobile phone with a colour screen or that has been introduced in the last five years. This means almost everyone can use the service.
* Finally, the standard means that a mobile ticket can be used on a journey spanning lots of rail operators.
* Over the next few months, we expect the existing rail operators with mobile ticketing services to migrate to the new system.
* The barriers for other rail operators have now been removed so hopefully we can now start seeing wider mobile ticketing offerings

Regards,
Nick

- - - - -

Nick, thanks for emailing that over. I reckon that will be very useful for a lot of people considering or actually already doing business in this space.

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Posted in Mobile Commerce | Comments

Two Weeks and Nothing?

Wednesday, December 17th, 2008

I’ve been away for a week (because I moved house); and it’s all been a bit hectic! Unfortunately I didn’t have the internet for about two weeks, and thus I’ve been cut out of the online world of MIR.

So when I got my connection back some time late last week, I was mildly hoping to see something massively interesting to inspire me to write about; some major piece of news – I mean it’s nearly Christmas after all – or just something that might catch my eye.

Now even on my trawl across the internet in search of mobile news, and the latest goings-on in this brilliant segment of society and business I was expecting something.

Did I?
No.

Am I happy?
No.

You see, even I, a relatively technological “young” person/student, who has a keen interest in the world around me, and with Christmas looming just around the corner, just something eh?

Well, apparently not.

Now maybe some good news, and/or surprises are waiting around the corner for the New Year; or maybe something spectacular will happen in the after-Christmas sales. Needless to say though, I was expecting some major news about something; a big price cut, or some other form of attempt to gain more consumer interest in this very dismal financial situation.

I know I’ve said numerous times now about the lack of real spark at the moment, and the generally poor attempts at gaining custom; and although nothing major, I’m quite amazed at how little I’ve read about anything enticing me – as a probable and likely customer – to go and spend money.

Maybe I’m wrong in my presumptions that the mobile market is avoiding the “Credit Crunch” and that when I walked down my high street the other day, Phones4U, CPW, O2, Three, and the numerous other shops which hoard the high street were meant to be relatively empty on a busy Thursday leading up to Christmas?

Hmm…

Well, I’ll try not to be so pessimistic, and I will believe that someone somewhere is planning something out to ensure that the mobile industry remains in-tact.

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Posted in Mobile, Mobile Commerce, Mobile Presence, News, Operators, Opinion | Comments

Visa is heading on to Google’s Android platform. Watch out!

Tuesday, December 16th, 2008

It’s all getting very, very interesting in the mobile industry of late.

I’m looking at every single handset that’s released and thinking ‘oh, that’d be good with Android’. Now that you can configure your own mobile experience — albeit in limited form with the T-Mobile G1 — the other handsets are shortly going to look hugely, hugely tame from the viewpoint of an increasingly mobile savvy buying public.

I did a second take the other day when I was watching live television (a rare thing nowadays) and found an advert from Apple, showing off the iPhone — but focusing on the fact you can augment your iPhone experience buy purchasing applications. Fantastic.

But the fact you can now get Visa on your Android handset… that’s going to get a lot of alarm bells ringing across the planet. Visa’s moving. You want to get your arse in gear.

There’s a heck of a lot of interested parties who’ve all been doing the business equivalent of sticking their heads in the sand and waiting for ’something’ to happen with mobile and transactions.

Kudos to Visa for taking a leap.

So reports the American Banker. (Thanks to the industry heavyweight who forwarded me the article)

The Visa for Android application is, at the moment, simply just a view into your Visa account:

Visa Mobile for Android provides three services to the handset, she said: alerts and notifications sent by Visa, marketing offers from its merchant partners, and an integrated locator function that links a phone’s GPS system with the Google Maps service.

Right now the service is exclusive to those banking with US institution, JP Morgan Chase. So if you’ve got an Android device AND you bank with JPMorgan, check it out and tell me what you think?

A tiny step, perhaps. But:

Visa expects consumers to eventually use their phones to store information about multiple card accounts and to initiate transactions at the point of sale or online.

Definitely. Most definitely. It’s fooking annoying having to phone up to check your balance. Entirely 100% inefficient. It’s even worse having to wait to get a sodding paper statement.

I really like the idea of buying a television and .. woosh.. during the transaction, getting a little pop-up on my phone thus:

The alerts are sent to users’ phones after a transaction almost immediately, Ms. Zuercher said. “Because this runs off our authorization system, these notifications can appear on your handset in near real time, practically before you walk away from the point of sale.”

What’s next? Swiping your handset at the point of sale perhaps?

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Posted in Mobile Commerce | Comments

Introducing Beem

Saturday, December 13th, 2008

In a twittered conversation with Kerl Haslam, CEO of Mobile Sense, he mentioned their new payment service Beem.  I didn’t know it, so over to Kerl to make amends…

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Beem is Mobile Sense’s first mobile payment solution to be brought to market, making mobile payments a cost effective reality. Beem provides users with the ability to quickly and securely transfer cash from one place to another, all via text. Beem merchants can also receive payments for their goods and services all via Beem.

Beem is entirely geared towards customer satisfaction and has simplicity, convenience and ease of use all at the core of its offering. Today Beem is bank independent, network independent, handset independent, age independent and location independent, meaning users can use it anytime, anywhere and at any age. Beem provides subscribers with complete control and accessibility to their cash and can be used 24 hours a day, seven days a week in any country. Transfers come into effect immediately, meaning funds can be accessed and spent upon delivery. In addition, all expenditure can be tracked by users.

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Thanks Kerl - I’m looking forward to trying the service out!

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Posted in Ben Smith, Mobile Commerce | Comments

Is 2.5% enough?

Wednesday, December 3rd, 2008

I need not point out the current economic climate to any one of you; the news is bombarded with stories highlighting the latest business failure, another stage in the economic down turn, and how it’s getting frightfully worse. Then, Mr. Darling the UK’s Chancellor for the Exchequer announced yet another Government attempt to revitalise our spending… But will it work?

Now if you’ve ever read one of my rants before, you may be aware that I’m hung up on mainly two things.

The first being the lack of any originality in the Mobile sector (but I won’t go into that now), and secondly, price.

I’m a happy student; I live at home with my Mum, thanks to Ewan I have a job; but I also have quite a lot of expenditure. I fund all my school-books (and the price of them is astonishing), I pay for my own internet; I pay for all my socialising, my mobile, clothes and all the general stuff. Okay, I don’t have a mortgage to pay off; but even so, I’ve had to put off buying myself a car, and getting driving lessons because I simply cannot afford to be spending that much.

Well, I suppose that’s okay. At least I know I have my head screwed on, and I’m aware of my own financial limits. But even saying that, as I’ve mentioned before I really want a new phone – in fact I’ve been looking for something since the summer.

So it a two and half percent tax cut going to affect me buying myself a car, driving lessons, or even a mobile phone at the moment?

Simply, it’s a no.

Now, it’s not that I can’t afford it (because honestly, I can); the point being I know firstly I’m being cheated by mobile manufacturers. The clever plans to get you to think you’re buying into the latest technology to only find a month or so later the same company has released a better mobile, is just a joke.

Secondly, the amount of money I’m prepared to spend on a mobile is around £100, my absolute limit would have to be £120. Even so, two and half percent off of that is only a difference of £3! Now, even with my own self-admitted tightness when it comes to money, three pounds is hardly a noticeable difference now, is it?

Finally, I can happily predict that we’ll see lets say, some interesting sales in the near future. Well, this a blind guess, but I don’t see why it wouldn’t happen (and I don’t mean the normal January sales), I’m guessing there’ll be price reductions, sales, and attempts to move stock out of the back of the shop.

I’m saying this as a seventeen year old that has a job. Quite a few of my friends, also of the same age, in full time education in Sixth Form; who don’t have jobs. They rely on the menial amounts that their parents will spare them each week (which generally gets wasted on booze-ups at the weekend or something); and leaves them with nothing.

In fact, even just trying to get a new top from Top Shop takes a couple of weeks of saving, so think of how long it would take to get a mobile?

So do I think that Mr. Darling is going to spruce up the “young” people of England to be spending more? Certainly not, and I don’t see that this is going to affect the mobile market in any way whatsoever.

Then again, I may be wrong, and two and half a percent will make the world of difference; but if anyone was to work out their actual savings that they’re making by this VAT change, then I’m sure you may well find that it’s not a lot… A couple of pounds at the most!

Send any queries, e-mails or anything to Samantha@mobileindustryreview.com

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Posted in Devices, Mobile, Mobile Commerce, Opinion | Comments

Why pay for premium wall-papers, when I get them for free?

Wednesday, October 22nd, 2008

Is just the question I’m asking!

You see, the other day I was sitting in the School Library working hard on a piece of History work, when a class came in and began working on the available computers. The class was a mixture of boys and girls who were thirteen/fourteen years young.
A group of these boys, who were sitting in front of me, immediately used the internet to find pictures of action-hero/game characters to photograph on their phones to use as wall-papers.

And you know what?
It made me realise… What is the point in having premium products when pretty much anything you could ask for is readily available on the internet for free?

Personally, I’ve NEVER bought a ringtone, wall-paper, game, application or anything of the sort. I know for one fact, it’s a con. I’ll end up being tied to an endless subscription of other crap I don’t want, and costing me the earth to fund too! But also I know I can get whatever I want, whenever I want it, completely free.

I’ve never completely understood why at least presently, why companies such as Jamster, or the dozens of others who offer such a costly services still manage to get customers. Then again, people will never cease to amaze me!

However, say my Mum for instance, a perfect example of someone who doesn’t quite comprehend how much of a rip-off the Ringtone/wallpaper business is.
About a year or so ago she went through this phase of buying ringtones from T-Mobile. Now a ringtone according to T-Mobile was a thirty second, low quality clip from a song. Now my Mum over a period of say half a year bought only around two or three, but it actually set her back £2.50 per tone.

That’s £2.50 for a poor sounding, thirty second sample of a song. iTunes (as much as I dislike the service) offers a full track for 79p. How on earth does this make any sense?

Of course, me being the money-tight, and scared of spending person that I am, told my Mum off several times for such lavish expenditure on such a poor quality product. However, it was a case of, “I want, I get”.

I think the same can be said to the other more “adult” services which are available to mobile users. Dare I reiterate the countless adverts that appear on several channels after ten o’clock – but the point is people pay (quite a lot) for something which they can get for free. I don’t understand it, but I’m not going to try and understand it.

Although saying that, I wonder how much of a future these companies have. I can only imagine (and hope really), that as we get more technologically in gear, and as new generations become more equipped to the world of mobiles and computers that maybe in the near future such rip-off schemes may not exist.
I can’t blame T-Mobile, Jamster, or any of the other companies mainly for this; as actually I think its part stupidity on our behalf too. It’s just amazing how thirteen year olds are already grasping the concept of getting what they want for no cost. As Bluetooth, and probably, better technologies come into existence, I can only imagine that sharing, and moving our media around devices will only get easier, and quicker.

I can also only hope for the sanity of myself, and quite possibly many others, as dodgy ringtone manufacturers will cease to exist. Stick a nice classical piece as your ringtone – it’s what I’ve done!

Send any e-mails, questions or anything else to samantha@mobileindustryreview.com

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Posted in Mobile, Mobile Applications, Mobile Commerce, Mobile Services, Opinion | Comments

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