Linux News: M-Commerce

Making Micro-Payment Models Work Online
November 02, 2009

Forecasts for the magnitude of online micro-payments can whet the appetite of any profit-minded businessperson. However, cracking that code is more complicated than one thinks. There is little question as to whether sub-US$5 products can be sold in mass volume, but the lynchpin to opening the floodgates of micro-payments may very well be payment method.

Twitter Tiptoes Into Globalization With Japanese Mobile Version
October 15, 2009

Twitter is turning Japanese. Or at least trying to. The popular microblogging service on Thursday launched a Japan-based mobile version, hoping to penetrate a country where other U.S. social networking sites including Facebook and MySpace have failed to capture much ground.

It's Not Reality - It's Augmented Reality
October 11, 2009

You're walking down the street, looking for a good place to eat. You hold up your cellphone and use it like the viewfinder on a camera, so the screen shows what's in front of you. However, it also shows things you couldn't see before: Brightly colored markers indicating nearby restaurants and bars. Turn a corner, and the markers reflect the new scene.

Smartphones Get More AdSense
October 05, 2009

Google has developed a new JavaScript snippet for AdSense aimed at high-end mobile phones, giving advertisers yet another option for using its mobile platform. The new feature allows publishers to run larger-scale text and image ads on smartphones. As more people use these devices, more advertisers want to be able to target them, noted a Google engineer in a blog post on the rollout.

Study: Android's on a Mobile Web Tear
October 02, 2009

While apparently iPhones rule the mobile ad marketplace, Android phones are making rapid headway and could soon overtake BlackBerry devices. Mobile adverting marketplace AdMob on Thursday released a report indicating that 40 percent of the devices accessing its mobile ad network are iPhones. However, Android users accessing its network are increasing rapidly in North America and Western Europe.

Dialing Into Mobile Marketing
September 24, 2009

Mobile marketing has at last emerged as an important part of the marketing mix. Through a confluence of technologies and standards related to mobile devices, including 3G networks and data packages, the mobile channel can now enable large-scale marketing activities capable of engaging consumers in unprecedented ways.

Zong Turns Mobile Phones Into 'Charge Cards'
August 12, 2009

In the U.S., consumers are accustomed to paying for merchandise with checks, credit cards and debit cards. Online shopping and banking transactions are dependent on electronic money transfers between vendors and their customers' financial institutions. That experience, however, is not universal. Consumers in Europe and Asia are used to different types of systems.

In Mobile Advertising, Experimentation Is the Name of the Game
July 31, 2009

The proliferation of smartphones, alongside the growth in number of subscribers of 3G network data plans, is having a ripple effect on multiple markets, from mobile apps to hardware enhancements. As media becomes increasingly fragmented, advertisers are focused on multiplatform media strategies in order to capture and retain consumer attention.

Google Mobilizes Product Search for iPhone, Android Users
April 24, 2009

Google has rolled out a mobile-friendly version of its Product Search feature for iPhone and Android-powered devices. Google Product Search is a search engine that works much as the name indicates: Users type in keywords relevant to what they're seeking and the feature delivers likely prospects from various shopping sites, along with product reviews and ratings.

Paymo: Harnessing a Global Mobile Payments Market
April 21, 2009

The global economy is changing. For many consumers, the credit card crunch is crumbling their ability to buy things online. In many countries outside the U.S., consumers do not have credit cards but rely instead on smart cards to swipe transactions directly through their banks.

Maximizing the Mobile Commerce Experience
April 14, 2009

It's official: Mobile is moving into the mainstream. With the ever-growing proliferation of devices offering full Internet browsing access, more and more consumers are interacting -- and purchasing -- on the Web via their device of choice. Adding to this trend, there are now more than 40 million active monthly users of the mobile Internet in the U.S. alone, according to Nielsen Mobile.

Yahoo Launches New Mobile Uber-App
April 01, 2009

Yahoo on Wednesday rolled out its new Yahoo Mobile service for smartphones. The company also announced Yahoo Messenger for the iPhone, which will be launched soon. Yahoo Mobile for the Web is available as a service on the mobile Web, accessible by cell phones with Web browsers. It can also be downloaded as an application running natively on the iPhone.

Report: Apple's Mobile App Store Zaps Competition
March 02, 2009

The Global Intelligence Alliance Group's new report on the success of mobile application stores lists five ranking criteria: Time to market, developer relationships, device adoption, ease of use and the number/variety of apps. An unofficial sixth factor: the number of cool TV commercials with catchy pop music showcasing those apps.

Telltale Signs of E-Commerce Fraud
February 25, 2009

In a time of economic crisis, there tends to be an increase in the number of people that turn to criminal activity. Although petty crime is usually one area that shows a significant upswing, an additional form of criminal activity on the rise is fraud. Before you can stop fraud, you need to know how to define it in order to properly identify it.

Kyte iPhone Apps Aim to Keep Music Fan Loyalty Flying High
February 23, 2009

While the Apple iPhone and iPod touch App Store has been dominated by free and low-cost games, a new generation of applications maybe on the way: Music artists and entertainers with their own branded iPhone apps. A company called "Kyte" is riding the wave by supplying a framework through which developers can create these apps.

Not Your Father's Bank: Building Online Banking for Gen Y
February 20, 2009

Growing up in a world immersed in digital technologies, members of Generation Y have the highest of expectations on how they want to interact with their banks online. Born at the dawn of the digital age in the early 1980s, the oldest among Generation Y have never known a world without personal computers and video games.