Mobile technology news and tips. Mobile phones, cellphone information.
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A new Harris Interactive study finds that mobile phone users are increasingly comfortable making banking and purchase transactions while on-the-go – a virtual taboo until now. The survey finds 16 percent of mobile phone subscribers already use mobile banking services, with 60 percent of these people using the services at least once a week. Many others presently not banking and buying on-the-go expressed interest in mobile banking, with 35 percent open to checking bank account balances and transferring funds via their mobile devices. A third of those surveyed (33 percent) also said they would like to receive text message alerts from their financial institutions.
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The survey also finds that on-the-go mobile purchases are on the rise. About 25 percent of mobile phone users with mobile access to the Internet now use their devices to buy goods and services online via a credit card. One in five respondents (20 percent) said they would like to someday use their phones like a “mobile wallet,” where charges would be billed directly to their mobile accounts. In addition, ten percent of the survey participants said they would consider wire transfers and stock trading via their mobile phones.
“Today’s mobile devices are the springboard for a whole raft of services, with huge pent-up demand for mobile commerce capabilities,” said Joseph Porus, vice president, Harris Interactive. “If security concerns can be quelled, the sky’s the limit with consumer acceptance of mobile banking and purchase transactions. It’s a very intriguing prospect for the near future, considering how people have already embraced a variety of mobile technologies beyond simple phone communications.”
Among those surveyed, the biggest barrier affecting consumer acceptance of mobile banking and commerce is security concerns over personal data. Two-thirds (66 percent) of those interviewed express apprehension about using their mobile phone to transmit sensitive financial information. Nearly the same percentage, (63 percent) report fears about this medium exposing them to potential fraud and financial scams. Sixty-one percent also worry about losing a mobile phone containing personal financial information. Other consumer concerns with mobile commerce include questions about usability (43 percent), reliability (37 percent) and the speed of the wireless network (23 percent).
“While the survey indicates people have concerns associated with using mobile devices for financial transactions, it’s similar to the evolution of the Internet as a viable tool for banking and buying,” Porus continued, “We expect mobile technology to only improve and become even more secure in the coming years. This should ease people’s fears and make mobile commerce appealing in the future.”
Additional Information
To review selected Harris Interactive Technology Report 2008 research associated with mobile commerce, please visit: http://www.harrisinteractive.com/news/datatables/MobileWalletRelease_ Charts.pdf.
Russia’s bid to create a rival to the U.S. Global Positioning System, or GPS, has been delayed by equipment flaws and other technical problems, a senior Cabinet official said Wednesday.
First Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov acknowledged that Russia’s Global Navigation Satellite System, or GLONASS, failed to become fully operational at the year’s start as the government had planned.
The Freedom Phone is a concept by designer Vadim Kibardin for travelers looking for a pre-paid phone to use while abroad. It’s lightweight and sleek and has all of the information you need to know about it, such as your own number or dialing codes, printed on the back.
I’m entirely for gadgets that keep things simple yet functional. I’ve never used the FM/AM tuning on any MP3 player I’ve ever owned, and I’m one of those curmudgeons who doesn’t like to mix cameras and phones. But I can readily imagine a few features that may make the Freedom Phone just a touch more friendly, like a small screen to see what numbers I’ve dialed (international dialing has rather long strings of numbers, after all), or a detachable card on the back so I can easily access my phone’s information while talking to someone
You may think the groovy chick in the top pic is trying to drown the new Fujitsu F705i cellphone, but you would be negating the fact that the F705i is the world’s slimmest waterproof 3G cellphone. Sitting pretty at 13.7mm thick, the Fujitsu handset can handle a 1-meter water submersion for 30 minutes. Check out the rest of the mega gallery after the jump.
Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c79207) has announced the addition of “Mobile Payments Making Progress in North America” to their offering.
Using mobile handsets to accomplish financial transactions and purchases is starting to appear as something inevitable in the worldwide marketplace. However, we do not believe that 2008 will be the year of mobile payments. It may not even qualify as the year of trials of mobile payments; However, there is evidence that the US market may overcome a crucial issue: technology incompatibility, and make progress toward contactless payments using cellphones.
LAS VEGAS–(BUSINESS WIRE)—-Today, at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2008, Yahoo! (NASDAQ:YHOO) announced the early preview of its Mobile Developer Platform, a one-stop solution for developers to create mobile-optimized applications that are easy to build, quick to deploy, and run across a wide selection of devices, thus making it much easier for Internet content and services to “go mobile.” By providing developers with tools to write code once and efficiently publish their content instantly across hundreds of devices - accessible by hundreds of millions of users - Yahoo!’s Mobile Developer Platform is expected to usher in a dramatic acceleration in the adoption of mobile services by creating an explosion of new choices for the consumer.
As of this summer, Russians will be able to send text messages to ensure that the Vodka they are drinking is legit.
By sending the serial number of the bottle to a designated short code, they will get a response by SMS certifying (or not) the product.
The project is an initiative by State run Rosspirtprom, the company responsible for the sale of 60% of strong alcohol in the country and distributor of the top brands.
The sale of counterfeit vodka is a huge problem in Russia, not just because it hurts the major brands sales, but because the counterfeit drinks are filled with cologne water, antifreeze liquids or pure alcohol and are responsible for 40′000 deaths each year.
TORONTO, ONTARIO — (MARKET WIRE) — 01/09/08 — Silverback Media (PLUS: SBMP)(FRANKFURT: SVD), a mobile marketing advertising agency with operations in North America and Europe, has entered in a new three year partnership with Toronto-based Puretracks Inc (”Puretracks”), a North American digital music provider (the “Partnership”). The Partnership intends to offer a one stop shop to companies interested in incorporating both digital music and mobile content into their business-to-consumer promotions.
