M-commerce is the new revolution

The last century saw tremendous innovations in the realm of technology. The last decade found us communicating with each other through internet, the most popular words being- 'www' and '.com'. The trend is very likely to continue as consumers demand more and faster technology. There is a burning desire in people to be free.

The internet has changed the way of dialogue not only at our homes but also in business circles. It has been overcome by some limitations though, like waiting time to download, problem with networks, downtime from broken communication lines, which has meant a turnoff for the users.
All this is about to change. If E-Commerce was a slow evolutionary process, the conversion from E-Commerce to M-Commerce would be rapid.

Mobile commerce, commonly referred to as m-commerce, is the new 'in' thing. A mobile phone can now do much more than just call someone. The small screen of mobile phone can provide a bewildering amount of information.

Third generation telephony would provide easy access to the web and all its components. It facilitates the carrying out of transactions like shopping and banking, air ticket reservation, payment of bills of utilities like electricity boards, phone companies and municipal corporations etc. using devices like mobile phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), palmtops etc. Compared to the cost of transactions through a bank or an ATM, the cost of transaction through a mobile phone is less.

One service that m-commerce gives is the mobile search service.
One such company is PCCW of Hong Kong. PCCW utilizes an experienced and diverse management team, which features substantial experience in the fields of telecommunications and integrated communications businesses.

Smart Search is a service provided to cell phone subscribers of PCCW. Similar services are provided by DoCoMo's i-Mode in Japan. Some of the services of it are as follows.

The Shopping guide: Addresses and telephone numbers of the favorite shops in the major shopping malls in Hong Kong are provided with a supporting search engine.

Maps and Transport: Digital maps show detailed guides of local routes and stops of the major public transportation systems.

Ticketing: Movie tickets can be ordered online and the airline tickets can also be available at the press of a button wherever the subscribers are. Cellular phone replaces the credit card.

News and reports: Fast access to global news, local updated traffic conditions, the air pollution index, UV index and weather reports are provided continuously.

Gambling: You can legally gamble on horse racing in Hong Kong from any location through your mobile.

Personalized movie service: Updates on the latest movies with related information including movie category, casting, and show times. Also, subscribers can search for their own favorite movies by entering the name of the movie or the name of the movie theatre.

So such services given by PCCW help customers immensely. Moreover it goes much beyond that. Such service models through the mobile means that one no longer needs to be near a computer to send and receive information. If you have PDA or smartphone in hand, you have the whole world with you; you can connect with the internet to check stock prices, sports scores and variety of other activities even while you are on the move. A whole field called telematics involves placing wireless Internet-connected computers in the dashboards of cars and making more home appliances wireless so that they can be used anywhere in or near the home.

There is a lot of potential in m-commerce that can be tapped to change the way we do business. But the real revolution is yet to come. At the moment the technology used is not up to the mark. Advanced technologies like GPRS (Global Packet Radio Service) and 3G are still not in use as adequate bandwidth is not available. The cost involved is still high. Although airtime rates have been coming down, the biggest block for m-commerce to take off is high cost of handsets, palmtops and PDA's.Currently, m-commerce is being used in exchanging e-mails and messages rather than conducting serious business. The transition from e-commerce to m-commerce is in the making.