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Definition Advances
in e-commerce have resulted in progress towards strategies, requirements and development
of e-commerce application. Nearly all the e-commerce applications envisioned so
far assume fixed or stationary users with wired infrastructure, such as a browser
on PC connected to the internet using phone lines on LAN. Many
people do not use a PC outside the office, but keep the mobile phone at their
side all the times. Mobile commerce is perfect for this group. M-commerce
allows one to reach the consumer directly, not his fax machine, his desk, his
secretary or his mailbox, but ones consumer directly, regardless of where he is. M-commerce
is "the delivery of electronic commerce capabilities directly into the hands,
anywhere, via wireless technology" and "putting a retail outlet in the
customer's hands anywhere." This can be done with just a mobile phone, a
PDA connected to a mobile phone or even a portable PC connected to a mobile phone.
M-commerce is also termed as wireless e-commerce. Background
And Motivation Electronic commerce has
attracted significant attention in the last few years. Advances in e-commerce
have resutled in significant progress towards strategies, requirements and development
of e-commerce applications. Nearly all the applications envisioned and developed
so far assume fixed or stationary users with wired infrastructure, such as browser
on a PC connected to the Internet using phone lines or a Local Area Network. A
new e-commerce application such as "Wireless e-commerce" or "Mobile
e-commerce" will benefit one to reach the consumer directly, regardless of
where he is.
The emergence of M-commerce, a synonym for wireless e-commerce
allows one to do the same function that can be done over the internet. This can
be done by connecting a PDA to a mobile phone, or even a portable PC connected
to a mobile phone. Mobile Commerce is perfect for the group who always keep a
mobile phone by side all the times. A study from the wireless data and computing
service, a division of strategy analytics, reports that the mobile commerce market
may rise to $200 billion by 2004. The report predicts that transactions via wireless
devices will generate about $14 billion a year.
We are aware that consensus
within business and industry of future applications is still in its infancy. However,
we are interested in examining those future applications and technologies that
will form the next frontier of electronic commerce. To help future applications
and to allow designers, developers and researchers to strategize and create mobile
commerce applications, a four level integrated framework is proposed.
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