Emerging Technologies for Mobile Commerce

The emergence and popularity of 2G and 3G cellular networks as well as the high market penetration of mobile devices have created strong demands for introducing new applications in the area of mobile commerce (MCommerce). M-Commerce deals with selling goods, services, and content, including related functions like advertising and payment transactions, over a cellular network, and hence follows similar purposes as E-Commerce in the fixed Internet. However, M-Commerce is characterized by interaction patterns between customers and services that are very different from those known from the E-Commerce area. Services are accessed via mobile devices with numeric keypads and small displays with low resolution, and hence viewing items, navigating web sites, entering URLs, or filling out forms are not as convenient as when made from a stationary PC or a notebook. In addition, mobile customers do not want to be disturbed while being occupied in a certain situation, for example, during a meeting or while driving a car. Rather, they want to shift service interactions to quiet times, for example, when waiting for a train.