From feeding parking meters to bidding on eBay, cell-phone
possibilities keep multiplying
By Clint Swett -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PDT Thursday, September 29, 2005
Story appeared in Business section, Page D1

SAN FRANCISCO - So you're stuck in a meeting, but outside where your
car is parked, the meter is ticking and a city parking enforcer is
cruising like a shark.

No problem. Just feed the meter from your cell phone.

That scenario is one of the many utilitarian uses being touted by the
wireless industry as it seeks to expand the ubiquitous cell phone's
uses beyond voice, text messaging and ring tones.

Among new cell-phone functions - either in the pipeline or already
available - are bidding on eBay, buying movie tickets and finding the
nearest sushi bar or ATM location. Many of these e-commerce
innovations are on display here at this week's Cellular Telephone &
Internet Association trade show.

"I think this stuff will really take off," said Stephen Wellman,
executive editor of Fierce Wireless, an industry newsletter. "People
love their cell phones. Why wouldn't they want access to information
on (a device) they have with them all the time?"

The cell-phone-as-meter-minder has been adopted by a handful of cities
across the country, though not in Sacramento. PepperCoin Inc., a
company in Waltham, Mass., has developed one such system in
conjunction with Irvine-based Reino Enforcement Technology.

After registering on a Reino Web site, mparkusa.com, the user swipes a
credit card in the meter to pay for parking. When there's 10 minutes
left on the meter, the user gets a text message via cell phone warning
that time is running out. He or she can then call a number to top off
the meter, paying by credit card. The service ranges from 15 cents to
35 cents per transaction and currently is available on parking meters
in Las Vegas, Oklahoma City and Yonkers, N.Y.

PepperCoin President Mark Friedman said there's no reason that cell
phones can't be equipped to handle all kinds of payments. The
handsets, for instance, could be equipped with radio frequency
identification chips to broadcast encrypted payment information to
merchants.

"People could use it for vending machines, subways and taxis," he
said, as already occurs in Japan and other countries.

Those not interested in paying via cell phone can use their handsets
for bidding - on eBay.

A company called gNumber Inc. last week launched a free service called
UnWired Buyer that allows users to monitor their online bidding and
even make final bids in the last seconds of an eBay auction.

By registering their eBay user ID at www.unwiredbuyer.com, bidders can
have all their desired auctions monitored by gNumber's technology.
Three to five minutes before an auction closes, gNumber will call the
cell phone with an automatic alert indicating the status of their eBay
bid.

As the auction draws to a close, an automated voice system updates the
would-be buyer on rival bids; the bidder can easily raise an offer by
pressing numbers on the phone's keypad.

Successful bidders must go to eBay's Web site, however, to complete
and pay for their transaction.

Because eBay auctions are often decided in the last few minutes and
people can't always be sitting at their PC to monitor the 11th-hour
jockeying, gNumber Chief Executive Indy Gill said he's confident
there's a market for a service that untethers bidders from their
computer. And he says it provides a simple, voice-based system to
monitor the final bidding frenzy.

"We think it's easier than checking your voicemail," Gill said.

Other new offerings in the so-called mobile commerce niche include
being able to buy movie tickets on the Fandango Web site via a
cellular phone.

A Manhattan-based company called Crisp Wireless Inc. developed a
system in which customers with a WAP -enabled phone, or wireless
applications protocol, can go to the Fandango site, view movie
listings, buy tickets and even get directions to the theater. The
service will launch next month.

Boris Fridman, Crisp's chief executive, said the movie service is
aimed at people between the ages of 18 and 24, a demographic group
that uses cell phones far more than desktop computers.

Among other innovations, industry giants like Google and Yahoo have
launched search engines for wireless phones. And companies like
Destinator Technologies Inc. are offering Global Positioning System
satellite software that guides cell-phone users to their destinations,
whether walking down the street or traveling by car.

While such services might seem exotic in the United States, they are
common in Asia and Europe. In Japan, for instance, wireless users can
buy train tickets or soft drinks from a vending machine and pay via
their cell phones.

But in the United States, the tech bust and disputes over payment
processing earlier this decade stymied similar innovations, said
Wellman. But now, Americans are slowly catching up.

"It won't happen overnight," Wellman said, referring to some of the
advanced cell phone services enjoyed internationally. "But it's coming
soon."


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"The pressure is outrageous. Everyone is picked apart and it's so superficial and not real. I'm not superskinny and not overweight. I'm just normal."
-- Hilary Duff



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