What is mCommerce?

Mobile commerce, mCommerce for short, is buying and selling products or services via wireless handheld devices like mobile telephones and personal digital assistants (PDAs).mCommerce allows users to access Internet-based services without requiring to plug in to a computer. Thus it is not surprising that m commerce is widely regarded as eCommerce that has been catapulted to the next level.

mCommerce: Emergence and Evolution

mCommerce had its beginnings in 1997, in Coca Cola vending machines in Helsinki, Finland. These vending machines were powered by mobile phones to receive payment through text messages. The year 1997 also witnessed the introduction of mBanking, also via SMSs.

The advent of iPhones saw a sea change in the way mCommerce would be executed. The trend shifted from text messages to mobile applications.

mCommerce Products and Services

The range of mobile commerce services expanded as content delivery over mobile devices became speedier and more secure. mCommerce had already scored over eCommerce by allowing users to transcend the confines imposed by wired means of communication. Now, these technological advances made mCommerce the preferred mode of digital commercial transactions.

The widely prevalent mCommerce services and the product platter therein, include:

•Financial Services: These include mBanking services whereby customers can access their accounts via their mobile devices and make payments. They can also access brokerage service.

•Telecommunications Services: Users can use their handheld devices to pay bills, view their accounts, and make changes to them.

•Information Services: Users can deliver and receive news, information, and updates using their handheld devices.

•Retail Services: Mobile commerce services have revolutionized this sector by allowing users to place orders and also pay for them while on the go.

The mCommerce Technology

mCommerce has definitely received a fillip with the emergence of various technologies. The following are some technological advances that aid mobile commerce services:

•Wireless Application Protocol (WAP): Built-in web browsers in handheld devices support hypertext markup language (HTML) and extensible markup language (XML), which are the principal languages used to create web-based content. This enables wireless device users to browse the Internet conveniently.

•SMS, EMS, and MMS: Short message service (SMS), enhanced messaging service (EMS), and multimedia messaging service (MMS) power mCommerce services by allowing users to exchange text messages, digital photographs, and voice clips. This in turn, eases the process of carrying out business over mobile devices.

•3G: Third generation (3G) mobile phones enable users to make and receive video calls, download and store various types of media files, and access location-based services.

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