| All phones are created equal, but some are more | | | | of millions of products via |
| equal than others. From Canada and California to | | | | WAP; merchants use a branded interface, while |
| Japan and Korea, Internet-enabled mobile phones are | | | | Inktomi will handle billing, data center, andshopping |
| rapidly ushering in the next generation of | | | | basket operations. |
| onlinecommerce: "m-commerce" or Mobile-commerce. | | | | Yahoo's sites in many countries offer instant access |
| "The wireless world is a parallel universe almost as | | | | to mail, finance, news, WAP directories, andother |
| large as the Net -- and the two are beginning | | | | information for mobile users in many languages. |
| afascinating convergence,. are according to Swapnil | | | | Yahoo has tied up with four mobile phonefirms in |
| Shah, Director of international operations at Inktomi. | | | | Taiwan to carry its Chinese-language WAP portal, |
| Three sets of devices are Emerging as wireless | | | | which includes news, email andweather forecasts. |
| Internet platforms: cell phones, PDAs (personal | | | | In Australia, early results have shown that on |
| digitalassistants like Palm Pilot) other dedicated | | | | Telstra's WAP service, financial news, horoscopesand |
| devices (such as digital cameras and Walkman radios). | | | | sports results were some of the most popular |
| Mobile e-commerce services -- "me-services" -- have | | | | services, followed by movie listings, flightinformation, |
| slightly different attributes than the Internet | | | | and Yellow pages reference data. |
| serviceswe think of today, says Hewlett-Packard | | | | Hewlett-Packard has launched a Mobile Services |
| CEO Carly Fiorina. They must enable customers to | | | | Bazaar, targeted at service providers anddevelopers |
| conduct | | | | for mobile-related initiatives. |
| "burst transactions" -- that is, short-session, | | | | Companies like ConsumerDesk.com, a |
| information-driven transactions that can be completed | | | | comparison-shopping site, already have WAP-enabled |
| veryquickly, while people are on the goand in motion. | | | | productspreadsheets for consumers. "Soon, real-time |
| Market Forecasts | | | | discounting information will be made available for cell |
| According to market forecasts from Jupiter, | | | | phoneusers. And since cellphones are always on, this |
| Forrester and IDC, between 50 to 70 per cent of | | | | can become a real killer-app for m-commerce," says |
| Internetusers worldwide will be accessing the Net via | | | | Rene |
| mobile devices in the year 2003; the number of | | | | Jepma, CEO and founder of ConsumerDesk. |
| Internet-enabled devices then would range from 150 | | | | Pan-European auctioneer has announced a deal with |
| to 350 million units. Ads in the form of text links, | | | | mobile Internet portal iobox that will enableusers to |
| microbanners and audio jingles on WMI (wireless | | | | track auctions and receive bid alerts from their mobile |
| mobile Internet) networks are expected to cross the | | | | phones. iobox, launched in 1998 in Finland, hashalf a |
| $1 billionmark within two years. | | | | million users in Finland, Sweden, Germany and the U.K. |
| Reports from Ericsson suggest that the sale of | | | | A star performer in WMI-space is Japanese Telco |
| mobile phones worldwide will in a few years exceed | | | | NTT's cellular arm DoCoMo, whose one-year-old |
| the | | | | iModeservice for mobile Net access has already |
| PC market by four times. 50 per cent of Europeans | | | | surpassed the six million-subscriber marks. More than |
| are expected to have mobiles by year 2003. And by | | | | 800,000 newsubscribers are now signing up for this |
| 2002, third-generation networks known as UMTS | | | | service each month. Over 12,000 i-mode sites are |
| (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) | | | | available in Japan formobile Internet access, offering |
| willoffer richer online experiences. | | | | banking, travel ticketing, news and email services via |
| Companies have been toying around the idea of a | | | | a "portal tone." |
| wireless Internet for quite some time, but the | | | | Next year NTT plans to roll out 3G W-CDMA |
| wirelessrevolution, as we know it today started to | | | | services with 2 Mbps bandwidth and broadband |
| really pick up steam in 1997. Disparate standards | | | | content, as thenumber of users accessing the Net |
| movementsand "microbrowser" Companies like | | | | via mobiles exceeds those accessing it via PCs. The |
| collectively mobilized implementations, who, along with | | | | pervasive, "always on"nature of mobile Net access |
| Nokia, Motorola and Ericsson, formed the WAP | | | | will undoubtedly continue to spin off entirely new |
| (Wireless Access Protocol, sometimes jokingly | | | | innovations in online services. |
| referred toas "Why Another Protocol?") | | | | Very interesting concepts are emerging in Europe, |
| Forum to develop an independent standard for the | | | | such as Amadeus, which provides a WAP based |
| wireless Internet, based on WML (Wireless Markup | | | | travelservice, Webraska, which provides a WAP, |
| Language). | | | | based navigation service, Paybox, which provides a |
| Around the same time, NTT DoComo in Japan | | | | bill paymentservice, and NECS, which provides an |
| released a similar technology based on compact | | | | e-mail aggregation service. |
| HTMLcalled i-Mode. The last several years has seen a | | | | Companies provide internet-to-paging gateways like |
| rapid proliferation of wireless content, mostly | | | | Silicon Valley based Unimobile.com, which also |
| throughout | | | | allowconsumers to control the receipt and delivery of |
| Europe and Asia, but also in the U.S. and Latin | | | | messages, alarms and Internet content directly on |
| America. The numbers for WAP, however, are not | | | | their devices. |
| asthrilling, mainly due to the fact that application | | | | The service also lets users customize the |
| developers need to redesign their content using | | | | look-and-feel of the desktop product to match their |
| WML. | | | | offline wirelessdevices. Another offers online contact |
| In the pre-WAP era, SMS (Simple Messaging Service) | | | | information and diary management solutions via |
| clearly was the most popular trend by | | | | mobile Internet Silicon |
| enablingtwo-way messaging and mobile e-mail. SMS | | | | Valley called company |
| text messages now represent about 8 percent of | | | | Roadmaps and Guidelines |
| total mobilerevenues in Europe (Approximately $10 | | | | Before embarking on their own WMI services, it is |
| billion) and that figure is growing exponentially. | | | | key that commerce companies recognise |
| But it is 2000 and 2001, which will belong to the | | | | m-commerce as acompletely unique service. |
| mobile Internet, according to infotech services | | | | "Cellphone users are more impatient than Internet |
| company | | | | users. The paradigm here is notsurfing; all services for |
| Infosys, whose offerings now include wireless | | | | the mass market have to be pitched at users in such |
| content solutions. Europe with its focus on standards | | | | a seamless way that they need noteven be aware |
| hasachieved 100% ubiquity with the adoption of | | | | that they are accessing the Net," according to Cindy |
| GSM, whereas North America has traded innovation | | | | Dahm, international director for |
| anddiversity for ubiquity with a slew of cellular | | | | "Businesses first need to understand their customers |
| technologies like AMPS, TDMA, CDMA, GSM, IDEN, | | | | to identify where they can provide the greatest |
| thusmaking it slower for mobile Internet services to | | | | value in amobile environment. This could range from |
| take off. | | | | pushing promotional rewards to facilitating impulsive |
| In most markets, much WMI usage is among trendy | | | | shopping overmobile phones. Having figured out the |
| teenagers, but it will become more and more | | | | mobile commerce strategy, businesses would have to |
| "professional" and mainstream, predicted Bertrand | | | | m-enable their e-commerce and CRM systems," |
| Bidaud, telecom research analyst at global | | | | according to Infosys' wireless consultant Vempathi. |
| researchfirm Gartner Group, in an interview for this | | | | The cost of m-enabling primarily would be that of |
| publication. | | | | re-writing the existing applications to make them |
| "M-Commerce will eventually overtake traditional | | | | MI-compatible. There could be additional costs, which |
| PC-based B2C commerce," predicts Infosys | | | | the businesses would have to bear if they want to |
| wirelessconsultant Shashi Vempathi. The cellular phone | | | | leveragecellular networks for providing value, added |
| will fast transform from a voice device to be the | | | | services based on location information, says |
| key enablerof secure mobile commerce in the 21st | | | | Vempathi. |
| century, and by its mobile nature it will become the | | | | For B2B (corporate application, Intranet), the main |
| instrument forconducting every day sundry | | | | cost will be education. "It is about a new way to |
| transactions -- something that is difficult for PC-based | | | | interact withemployees, and that requires dedicated |
| B2C e-commerce toachieve, he says. | | | | effort," says Gartner's Bidaud. |
| Market Potential and User Behaviour | | | | The most versatile language to choose by designers |
| Applications well suited for the WMI domain include | | | | and application developers would be XML (extensible |
| B2B services (mobile Intranet access, roaming | | | | Markup Language). Sites should be designed using |
| emailservices), travel information (for buses and | | | | XML for organizing the content and adapting it |
| Airlines), finance (time-critical banking and stock | | | | appropriatelyto HTML, CHMTL or WML based on the |
| trades), e-commerce (betting, auctions), and | | | | channel of delivery - Web or WMI. |
| community (chat, e-postcards, cartoons), according | | | | "But it is also important in design to bear in mind that |
| to Johan Montelius,wireless Internet specialist at New | | | | a user would access a service over wireless for |
| York-based research firm Jupiter Communications. | | | | performinghighly prioritized operations which are time |
| A recent study that Hewlett-Packard conducted on | | | | and location sensitive -- unlike a user accessing the |
| mobile markets found that the first generation of | | | | service over the |
| "me-services" falls into six categories: | | | | Internet who usually has time and flexibility on his |
| Transactions (banking and travel reservations) | | | | side," cautions |
| information (sports Scores, real-time news), | | | | Vempathi. |
| Database search (yellow pages and translation | | | | So the wireless version of the service should be |
| services), | | | | designed to enable high priority "Here and Now" |
| Entertainment (customer ringers, games), | | | | operationswhile keeping the wired version loaded with |
| Personal services (calendars, address books), | | | | all possible options. |
| Communications (Group SMS, mail). | | | | "Wireless interaction requires short dialog today since |
| M-commerce is great for time-sensitive and | | | | content is not as rich as on the Web. Design should |
| location-sensitive sales. | | | | reallyfocus on key applications, and make them easily |
| M-commerce can easily spur impulse buying for items | | | | reachable to mobile users. Simplicity is key. Local |
| like music -- consumers can buy an album almost | | | | content isalso more important than in the wired |
| assoon as they hear it on radio or see the video on | | | | world," says Gartner's Bidaud. |
| MTV. News and information services have been | | | | Many companies embarking on m-commerce tend to |
| among thefirst to jump in to exploit the possibilities | | | | stumble on some key misconceptions, such as |
| of WMI, and dozens of news feeds are now | | | | assuming thatthe mobile Internet is merely WWW on |
| accessible via mobiles. | | | | the cellular phone, or that it is just a matter of code |
| has already rolled out book and music ordering via | | | | conversion, or that allphones have the same and look |
| WAP for Amazon in the U.S. and U.K. | | | | and feel for WMI content. |
| In the corporate environment, banking and airline | | | | Privacy and security are also a matter of concern, |
| sectors are early adopters. But for a long time to | | | | given the unprecedented precision that mobile |
| come, the | | | | operators have forgathering user and location data. |
| "killer app" of WMI will still be Old-fashioned | | | | The Road Ahead |
| messaging and related services, says Gartner's | | | | To sum it up, we can compare the early excitement |
| Bidaud. "B2Bwill come later. It appears at a more | | | | generated over WMI to the release of the Mosaic |
| mature stage, as in the wired world. | | | | Web browserin the early 1990s. "Just as Mosaic |
| First will be B2C and then corporate application | | | | slowly matured into Netscape Navigator, WMI will also |
| (Intranet)," he observes. | | | | be capable of handlingtextand multimedia over both |
| WMI in Action | | | | low and high bandwidth networks," says Shishir |
| In Japan, one of the most profitable WMI sites is | | | | Gundavaram, CTO of lifeguru.com, a wireless portal. |
| Bandai, which "uploads" new cartoons everydayon | | | | "A me-service has to eventually become second |
| the phone. Tone rings download is also very popular. | | | | nature -- it must naturally weave itself into the fabric |
| A large proportion of stock trading in | | | | of our dailylives -- like buying train tickets or checking |
| South Korea has shifted to the Net and mobile | | | | flight schedules," according to HP CEO Carly Fiorina. |
| phones. | | | | In conclusion, consensus seems to be emerging that |
| U.S.-based Inktomi is offering "shopping dial tone" | | | | the performance of m-commerce will improve since |
| solutions via WAP directory and catalogservices for | | | | airtimefees are expected to drop further, more WMI |
| cell phone users, so that online commerce is | | | | gateways will become available, and content and |
| accessible irrespective of the platformused. Inktomi is | | | | commerce servicesfrom independent players will |
| working with hundreds of merchants to offer sales | | | | proliferate. |