M-COMMERCE search for a KILLER AP

This page last updated 2011 Jan 10
 

This web page has audio clips - just click on the icon (like the one to the left) and you can hear Prof. Richardson's voice adding additional information to topics on the page.

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.	This page used in the following courses taught by Prof. Richardson . MGT D06 MGD 415 BCS 555

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LEARNING OBJECTIVES

When I first began lecturing about m-commerce in 2000, it seemed a hot topic and I guessed that by 2003 it would have taken root - now, in August 2004 (and again in Jan 2008)  I'm looking over these notes and realize a lot of the hype was not fulfilled. "Back in early 2000, mobile commerce seemed to have sky-high potential. A global survey found that 61 percent of respondents imagined they soon would be using wireless  devices as universal payment tools, and the analysts who compiled the survey predicted that overall revenue generated by m-commerce  would total US$100 billion in 2003." wrote Lynn Ward for e-commercetimes.com www.ecommercetimes.com/story/21464.html Students who read this unit, and participate in the subsequent classroom discussion will; understand that there are several criteria for a technological development to "take off" and this unit will suggest what some of those criteria might be know some of the "players" that will take leadership roles in developing m-commerce  and by knowing the players, allow for opportunities related to future employment, or personal investing be able to intelligently discuss some of the possible future uses and applications of m-commerce appreciate the circumstances related to previous developments in  history of a "killer application" appreciate that developments of a new technology sometimes depend upon   developments in other technologies

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INTRODUCTION

Everybody seems to have some say on the situation of wireless business and mobile e-commerce (m-commerce for short). Most of the time (2000-2006) we see articles and opinions on m-commerce in leading newspapers and e-zines but there are also trade publications and industry association reports that discuss this impending tidal wave.  Or, is it just hype. Is it a case of technology seeking a purpose? In 2000, 2001 and 2002 there were many articles about m-commerce taking off and it was suggested that in 2003 or 2004 that people who accessed the web through there cellphone could do anything. We know by 2005 that this did not take place - why? As we approach early 2007 it appears there are some new "kewl" applications for cell phones, like the ability to take pics and short videos (which is "so 2005...") and in China we have the growing market for mobile phone cartoons !!! - yes China's mobile phone cartoons market size exceeded RMB 720,000 in 2005 and registered users reached 120,000  http://cellular.co.za/news_2006 But the question remains, what will be the really big thing that merges using a cell phone and the internet capabilities into a device, or function that will have widespread use around the world?

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Read this article quoting Prof. Richardson on the subject of the need for a "killer application" The article was published in  The Business Review 2004 Aug 6th

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What Will It Take? For m-commerce to take off

What Will It Take?  asks Lynn Ward in her article in e-commercetimes.com www.ecommercetimes.com/story/21464.html "Mike McCamon, executive director of the Bluetooth  Special Interest Group, told the E-Commerce Times that several factors must be in place to make m-commerce and the electronic wallet a reality.  First, consumers will need easy-to-carry wireless devices that they will always have with them, and terminals will have to be available at stores or in vending machines. Both of these devices must have the necessary infrastructure  to enable transactions.  Second, there must be a high density of both consumer devices and terminals, and they must be pervasive. "It has to save time, it has to be convenient, and it has to work everywhere," McCamon said.  [Third] Last, and most difficult, there must be a worldwide standards initiative. McCamon recalled that when he lived in Europe, not all of his credit cards from the United States worked there; conversely, his Bank Suisse credit card did not work in the United States. "That's an industry that's been around for nearly 40 years, and we still don't have universal standards," he said.

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Who will be the playaz? For m-commerce to take off

Prof. Richardson suggests there are 6 possible sources of leadership in the development of    o a killer application, and    o a series of new hardware devices, and software for apps that will take m-commerce from an "idea", to universal acceptance in all aspects of business and marketing products and services. 1. the banks - in Canada there is an oligopoly with the banks and great potential for collaboration on a national basis 2. the telcos - the giant sized telecommunications companies like Japan's NTT, USA's Verizon, and Canada's BCE Bell Canada Enterprises and its subsidiary Nortel (eg. wpspay.com launched in 2005 is a consortium of Rogers, Telus and Bell Mobility) 3. the creditcard companies - VISA, Mastercard and AMEX have already seen the writing on the wall and formed a consortium for researching m-commerce payment systems so they will not be marginalized, see  www.mobilepaymentforum.com 4. the handset hardware companies - Nokia, SONY, Mitsubishi, IBM, Motorola etc. while try to create devices which allow functionality never before seen, thereby creating FABs not previously considered in handheld devices 5. the software companies - Microsoft, Oracle, Google. "Microsoft Dollars", not a stretch given the recent example of Canadian Tire money, or the 1700's example of the Hudson's Bay Company issuing its own currency among the fur traders and natives. 6. national governments - gov't will consider       - the opportunity for a new source of taxation revenue       - the competitive advantage for their nation's economy

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Older technologies that were "KILLER APS"                   Older technologies that were "KILLER APS"

People always say that if you forget history you are doomed to repeat it - in this case, it would do us well to look at how some killer aps boosted older technologies - and by looking at those older situations, see if we can find some twinkle or sign that will allow us to know what will be the killer ap that will cause wireless services to take off. What were record players used for in the beginning, and why were they invented? The pioneers of the record player were Thomas Edison, (1847–1878)  with his phonograph, and Emile Berliner (1851–1929), who invented the predecessor of the vinyl record 1896. Edison's records were made of tinfoil, upon which a groove of unvarying lateral direction but varying depth was cut.  Edison claims to have had as one of his original purposes, being the relationship between a businessman dictating letters to a secretary. Edison tried to produce a machine that would record the gentleman's speech, which could then be later played back by the secretary in a manner which would allow her to type out the words. What we fail to see sometimes is how quickly older inventions also spread fast and had their diverted and entertaining applications. How many readers of this page would be surprised to learn that edible records made of chocolate were a culinary delight in 1903. Of course, in Y2K we know that the phonograph's Killer Ap was not business oriented, but rather applied to music and it was entertainment purposes that drove subsequent developments. The reason we deliberate on this historical tale is to keep in mind that all the businesses presently trying to find a great Ap for wireless technology, may be missing (what has been historically a great driver of inventions) the most powerful Ap - entertainment. written with notes from Prof. Richardson's class on History of Technology  www.witiger.com/centennialcollege/GNED117.htm

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The screen capture to the left comes from a blog done by Prof. Richardson on ITWorldCanada.com in Dec 2009 in which he discusses the need for a "killer ap" to launch mobile wireless payment systems in Canada. Richardson makes the case that Tim Horton's could be a leader in developing such a payment situation.

advanced technologies facilitating target market segmentation

CBC journalist Paul Jay wrote an article titled "Hitting the target: Increased personalization of ads here to stay, despite privacy concerns" The article ran on cbc.ca in the first week of October 2007 and quoted extensively from an interview given by Prof. Richardson    The basics of the story is, as Paul outlined in the first sentance "Social networking sites and advances in mobile technology are giving advertisers an unprecedented ability to focus their pitch to a very specific focus group: you." "Increasingly, sophisticated mobile handsets are incorporating Global Positioning System satellite technology to provide users with mapping information. Tying mapping data into advertising is a natural move, said Richardson." In the interview Prof. Richardson also stated "One of the greatest weaknesses of marketing is you don't know location, you don't know how close people are to your store... But if advertisements were tied to a phone's GPS, the consumer might get an ad telling them not only about a sale nearby, but how to get there...This could be the holy grail for advertisers, the next killer application,"

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New technologies and Killer  Applications

There are consequences of new technologies, that are beyond the original idea of the inventor. A good example is the Event Data Recorder in automobiles. By looking at this situation in 2004, we see a good example of a modern technology that has applications for a purpose not previously considered. In the case of Event Data Recorders in automobiles, the information recorded in this "black box" can be used for law enforcement - originally these devices were planned to be used by the manufacturers and insurance companies so they could avoid lawsuits. Law enforcement agencies can use the information in the recorders to determine if you were wearing a seatbelt at the time of the accident, whether you did brake (if you said you did) the speed you were going, etc. - all of which raises privacy considerations. Do car salesmen tell you that if you buy a 2007 Toyota that all your driving activities will be recorded in a computer device in the car? - I don't think this is ever mentioned to new car buyers. . "The original purpose of the event data recorder was to protect car manufacturers from specious lawsuits, but in just a few years it has become routinely used by police forces for accident reconstruction. The little box even records whether you're wearing a seat belt or not, useful information for insurance companies. And most of us didn't even know it was there." Tim Warner in an article titled "The dawning of the age of stealth computing" Computing Canada, April 23, 2004, Vol. 30 No. 6 "the black box was not designed with police or attorneys in mind; carmakers made them to gather crash information and improve vehicle safety." posted July 11, 2003 at http://www.minorityx.com/viewarticle.php?artId=143 "An estimated 25 million automobiles in the United States now have so-called event data recorders, a scaled-down version of the devices that monitor cockpit activity in airplanes" Associated Press June 29, 2003  http://www.charleston.net/stories/062903/wor_29black.shtml

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Wireless e-business will not develop strongly unless there is a "killer ap". A really good application of any technological development has always been necessary in order for something to become very popular. Newcomen built an engine with a piston working in a vertical cylinder and a massive  overhead rocking beam connected to the mine pumps. In 1712 the first practical steam engine in the world was set to work at a South Stafforshire colliery and within a few years they were being built in almost every mining area of Britain. The killer ap for the steam engine was pumping water out of deep mine shafts so that miners could recover more coal to literally fuel the fires of the industrial revolution. In a similar way, it will be necessary for wireless e-business to find a "home" in a key industry, which will drive developments and applications. In these early days some indications are that one the industries that could develop some killer aps might be the banking industry.

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possibilities - banking - mobile workforce

.  KEY  POINTS In searching for clues as to the "Killer Ap" for wireless m-commerce, it is reasonable to presume that the major hardware and software vendors will make suggestions and comments on their respective web sites which we may use as part of the info we evaluate. Raffaele Bruno, a BCS 555 student in Oct 2002, found a section on Nokia's site that discusses two major segments that can benefit from wireless - the inference being that if these two segments "take off", then perhaps they may lead the rest of the future innovations. WTGR . "Two major segments that can substantially benefit from anywhere, anytime access to information and services are financial services providers and  corporations with a mobile workforce." Nokia explains  "Tightening competition, globalization and changes in customer behavior present new  challenges to many service organizations. Combined with advances in technology, they have turned several industries into around-the-clock operations. Financial  institutions are no exception. Their distribution systems and customer interfaces have  gone through major changes. By innovatively combining mobile technology with  other distribution channels, financial services providers can establish closer, more profitable and more stable customer relationships."    KEY  POINTS Its all about satisfying the customer in a rapidly changing Technological Environment and a highly stressed Competitive Environment. . "For financial services providers, the mobile phone has introduced a new channel to reach customers - one that is personal, easy-to-use, secure, location and time independent. Bank branches are increasingly expensive to operate, and the established self-service solutions, such as ATMs and Internet banking, cannot provide competitive efficiency or satisfy the needs of the new generation of customers, who  want to do business when it is most convenient for them."  . .KEY  POINTS So cell phone make Nokia makes the point that some of the reasons financial services will employ wireless applications are to have a new channel to reach customers. Why? - because the financial services market is very competitive and the customers are increasingly demanding of situations that would further save time and be more convenient.

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possibilities - banking - mobile workforce

"Work is no longer a place. was at  www.nokia.com/corporate/wap/future_mobile_pe.html " Not all employees spend their working hours at their desks, or even in the office. Many  jobs require travel - whether that be driving around the city or flying around the world. Most travelers would agree that the biggest obstacle to getting the job done while on  the road is lack of access to the tools that they use when at the office. Tools like e-mail, the corporate Intranet and databases. Mobile access to corporate applications increases your company's efficiency and  responsiveness and can raise your level of customer service. By providing your employees with a mobile channel to corporate information, they can easily and  securely access business critical data while on the move. E-mails, calendars, message  boards, contact directories, lead tracking and order entry systems can be within their their reach, regardless of where they are. Mobility can also enhance many business practices. Distribution, Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Enterprise  Resource Planning (ERP), sales force automation and business intelligence can greatly benefit from wireless connectivity. "   KEY  POINTS And why do you have such a mobile workforce. Globalization - more people have to travel internationally Competitive environment requires more direct contact with clients Increasing use of teams to solve problems, requires team participants to travel within a company and among companies .

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possibilities phone-based geo-mapping

GPS Based Social Networking Service The basic concept underlying GPS social networking is the ability to share one’s location dynamically   UTM student Angie K. in MGD415 in early Feb 2008 sent an email saying "my friend actually works in the Silicon Valley at a startup business called Loopt. " . Angie explains "Loopt is engaged in producing a social mapping device for mobile phones. The company develops a software that uses GPS technologies that allow users to receive notifications when friends are nearby, create profiles, share photos and locations, tag places and create events on mobile devices such as PDAs and mobile handsets." This is the website of Loopt https://www.loopt.com/loopt/sess/index.aspx   WTGR adds there have been some online reviews of this service on  GPS Technology Reviewst  http://gpstekreviews.com/  wrote about Loopt "Loopt is a new GPS social networking service being provided by Boost Mobile, a Sprint/Nextel subsidiary. Its core feature is a “My Friends” page which provides a map of where friends (those who share their location with you) are. Using icons users can see a friends status (available or not) and send SMS text messages or chirps (short pings to their cell phone to let them know you are close). Using a journal feature it’s possible to share photos and other information." see a review at  http://gpstekreviews.com/2007/06/05/loopt-gps-based-social-networking-service/

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possibilities phone-based cheating at Casinos

Phones used for unethical purposes !   UTM student Xian Ze (Shin) H. in MGD415 in late March 2009 sent an email saying "I recently found an article about cellphones being exploited to cheat  in casinos. I find this really interesting because as technology  within cellhones advances, people will always find new ways to exploit  it for other uses they were not originally attended for." . click on the screen capture to hear Xian Ze's audio clip

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WIRELESS Killer Ap search

.  KEY  POINTS In trying to ascertain what the Killer Ap for m-commerce might be, we have to acknowledge that some people in the community are quite negative about the m-commerce future and respect their point of view. One article in April 2002 suggests that online buying via a mobile phone is almost at "zero" interest. from e-tactics.com  www.e-tactics.com/April%2002.pdf We have here a case of the technology preceding the application - there are thousands and thousands of cell phones around the world in 2006 that have various internet capabilities - but a large %'age of people just aren't using them that way.  However one specific ap, Text Messaging - seems to have taken off.

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WIRELESS BANKING 2001

In the March  2001 edition of Plesman publication's "eBusiness Journal", several article discuss wireless banking. Howard Soloman writes a particularly interesting article titled "Banks and brokerages are cautiously rolling out wireless services" was at www.plesman.com/eb/news.html?CONTENT=news/eb030316a Interestingly, Soloman points out some of the experiences particular Canadian banks have had trying to marry a technology to a particular function. Soloman notes "tiny cellphone screens and slow networks mean frustration" Historically speaking , the ease with which "first adopters" use a new technology, and its application, is critical to whether it will continue. When pocket pagers first came out they were bulky, expensive and had limited coverage - it wasn't until the cell phone industry took off in the mid-1990's that pagers had a system to piggyback on (the cell phone network) to carry their signal - then they became popular. Solomon cautions that "Wireless won't be a big money-maker for the financial services industry, but banks and brokerages are slowly adding it to their product offerings" because no one wants to be left behind.  If there room for optimism. Solomon notes " industry analysts say there's no one wireless killer app, getting access to financial services is thought to be one of the biggest reasons why people will want Internet-enabled cellphones and personal digital devices, which are slowly entering the market."   The situation in March 2001 "Demand is not high at this point," says Jim Connor, manager of electronic services technologies at the Royal Bank. Most use it to check balances, he  said. "Overall, it's not overwhelming traffic," agrees David Sypher, senior  vice-president of direct channels at discount brokerage TD Waterhouse.  Schwab Canada finds only about three per cent of its trades are done through  wireless devices. "

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WIRELESS BANKING 2001

How is Canada doing in the international arena of wireless banking? Solomon notes "Canadian financial institutions have been among the North American leaders in offering wireless access. Schwab Canada was the first brokerage, beating its U.S. parent to the air." In conclusion, Solomon offers that "the future of wireless financial services is in the hands of carriers and device manufacturers. With bigger  screens, users can get graphs and more than three lines of information. But the  networks that can handle such data are at least a year away."   KEY  POINTS While Solomon might be technically correct in saying "the future of wireless financial services is in the hands of carriers and device manufacturers" - from a marketing perspective, the customer rules, and the truth is, the future of wireless financial services is in the hands of customers who can be convinced that the FABs (features, advantages & benefits) of the different new devices and services will save time [which seems to be historically the reason for adopting new tech devices] and allow access to information more quickly which will afford opportunities not presently available. WTGR EBusiness was published by The Transcontinental ITBusiness Group © by The Transcontinental ITBusiness Group. permission to quote comes from Joe Tersigni, Publisher, IT Business Group, www.plesman.com.. Copy of email kept on file in the permissions binder.

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WIRELESS BANKING 2001

March 09, 2001 article by  Victoria Berry  "Wireless banking brings partnerships"  Two partners bring Bank of Montreal to market quickly Mark Dickelman, vice-president of m-commerce and wireless for the Bank of Montreal, as quoted by Berry, says he "fully expects wireless banking to surpass the popularity of PC  banking in record time." The full story, was at  http://www.ITworldcanada.com/cw/displayArticle.................... explains that Bank of Montreal, which already has a relationship with  Sun Microsystems and 724 Solutions, expanded this relationship for developing wireless banking services. BMO implemented the Sun infrastructure and hardware and 724’s  E10,000 solution in anticipation of customer demands. Dickelman noted "the wireless market may not have boomed yet, but when it does the bank  will have a well-run solution. Veev.com allows the bank’s wireless clients to access all account transactions, re-order cheques, take part in the bank’s brokerage services and do some trading," according to Dickelman. interestingly....by 2004, http://www.veev.bmo.com was no longer working !!   .KEY  POINTS One of the key things about this BMO story is the speed with which they brought the product to market. Speed in getting a new product to market is critically important in the "new economy" where product life cycles PLCs are very short and competition to capture "early adopters" is very intense. We will see future examples of companies bringing wireless products and services to market very quickly - even when there may be problems with the appliance, or service delivery ; - just so they can capture that early market share and lock in the influential early adopters.  .

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WIRELESS Video Games  by  Cellphone

Rachel Ross, Technology Reporter to the Toronto Star , wrote an article in December 2001 titled "Newest Twist on Wireless: Video Games via Cell Phone".  Ross said "Cell phones and personal digital assistants are the latest [2001] video game platform and it could be the "killer app" for teens and a whole new way vie for their disposable income. Games for wireless devices have been a huge hit in Japan and are just beginning to infiltrate the North American market. "Wireless gaming has just exploded this year [2001],'' said Ken Truffen Bell Mobility's  Group Manager for Wireless Internet Content. "Wireless games now make up 40 percent of all our mobile browser traffic.'' Ross's article is noted in support of the hypothesis that one of the killer aps for wireless internet business (m-commerce) would be in the entertainment field. Furthermore - since cell phone penetration is already very high in Europe, North America and parts of Asia - there is a large market ready to adopt any successful trends that develop.

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Killer Ap aided by developments of other technologies

. KEY POINTS On the way to finding a Killer Ap, it may be helpful to keep in mind other technologies that are developing. Some of these technologies, which, combined with the "wireless principle", may result in an application which was not previously considered. In the piece below, we have an example of how advancements in the use of laser technology have been "employed" in a practical purpose. . This information was contributed by Michael Giorgio, a student of Prof. Richardson's in the MGTD06 class at UofT in Sept-Dec 2002. Since 2002 we have discussed this "hardware feature" every year in class but by late 2006, we have still not seen in widely available on cell phones or any other PDA, why ??    www.canesta.com In an earlier discussion we talked about the physical limitations of humans and how this effects the particular developments in m-commerce. The device seen to the left uses laser technology to project a keyboard on to a flat surface and allow a user to keyboard with the laser reading the finger movements - way kewl !   The reason we mention this product is because now that this technology exists, it addresses one of the challenges cell phones had to being an device to access the net - ie. small keyboard size

Killer Ap aided by developments of other technologies

Canesta was founded in April 1999, - based in California. An example of the new technology companies surfacing as a consequence of developments in wireless technologies. April 2005, Prof. Richardson spoke by phone with Jim Goldberger, Vice President, Business Development of Canesta. Goldberger explained that they had sold the intellectual property rights to the laser projected keyboard to a Korean company that might create an accessory device for application on cell phones in the near future.  And for those people interested in making money by investing in a cool company like this, the answer is No, they have not IPO'd yet (as of April 2005).   So in April 2005 we went looking for info on this Korean company that had bought the technology, and it seems like they are going to do something with it cause on their web page they have a news note about it  - click on the screen capture to see

Laser projected Keyboard 2007

In January 2007, Dan V., a student in Prof. Richardson's Seneca BCS 555 class, showed how he had bought  this new product from Celluon and was using it on his small pocket PC. He connected it in class and showed how he could slowly type in letters and the letters would show up on the screen.  celluon.com calls their new product LASERKEY If you click on the pic to the left, you can see an actual example of what the laserkey looks like. This image was taken when Dan was using it on top of Prof. Richardson's desk. We appreciated Dan showing us this example of how a new technology can have big changes in how people access and use data in the "Information Age" It is my opinion (WTGR) that this device will make BlackBerry's and other PDA's more attractive because they can be used as devices for inputing long text, not just receiving text. In 2006, it was very time consuming to use your thumbs and a couple of fingers to type in long messages into a cell phone or BlackBerry, but with a laser projected keyboard it could be very quick - thereby allowing such devices to have more widespread use, and even greater popularity.

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Laser projected Keyboard 2007

In October 2007, Sarengan K., a student in Prof. Richardson's Seneca BCS 555 class, sent an email about some of the latest advancements in laser projected keyboards. If you click on the pic to the left, you can see an actual example of what the laser does. It projects out of a pen-like device to broadcast a keyboard below and a screen above. Sarengan found at  www.snopes.com/photos/advertisements/pcpen.asp the following explanation "At the 2003 ITU Telecom World exhibition in Geneva, Tokyo-based NEC corporation displayed a concept described as the "Pen-style Personal Networking Gadget Package" "P-ISM : a pen-style cellular phone with a handwriting data input function, virtual keyboard, a very small projector, camera scanner, and personal ID key with cashless pass function. " snopes.com notes that the P-ISM systems was based on technology produced by Canesta

other resources
 http://www.mobilepaymentforum.org/pdfs/mpf_whitepaper.pdf