A mobile payment system that may actually catch on

We've seen several mobile payment solutions over the last six years or so. Most are out of business and none got into the mainstream. The ubiquitous mobile content payment method is premium SMS, which, obviously has limitations as to the range of transactions it can support. I took a quick look at Paypal mobile and there are three things that I like about it.

1. It appears like it's uncomplicated to use; the user does not have to remember a particular routine to go through in order to expedite a transaction.
2. Paypal is an established player with a large installed base in many countries. Both infrastructure and brand-based trust will not be a problem.
3. They seem to be offering more than just another payment solution. It's a different way of thinking about shopping: I see something in an ad, a billboard, or a product placement, and I can buy it instantly and on the spot with a simple SMS. Now, that's compelling!

The concept (No 3) is the most important. Success will depend on the other two and, also, on how many and how soon Paypal can sign up vendors and advertisers.

More than that, this purchasing concept may spawn a new generation of advertising-based content models, where product placement (in a movie, TV episode or video clip) may generate show-time/real-time sales. This may be a good way out for those content providers who suffer from file sharing.

Privacy out into the world

Usually insightful Techdirt seems to have been caught off guard with this. The mobile phone, unlike any other thing we have known, seems to be the ultimate private information and communications device: What goes on on my mobile interface is known only to me (possibly also to my operator). Socially, it is also considered bad taste to pick someone else's mobile and start scouring it. By virtue of its privacy, the mobile is also the ultimate transformer of public space into temorary private worlds. Whether it's a voice call, a text exchange or a mobile info service, I get immersed in the timespace of that interaction, nomatter whether I'm on the road or in a meeting. See: non-places restored, internet public and mobile privacy, homogenized living, and hypertext living.

VoIP over 3G

Who would have thought that competition and technological convergence would move so fast as to give rise to such cannibalism! I remember back in 2000 talking with friends from Mannesman (later acquired by Vodafone), WiFi was the big taboo; they got so irritated whenever someone brough it up and would change the topic without second thought.

And here we are today: 3G operators trying to squeeze some revenue out of their expensive infrastructure are prepared to sell their souls to yesterday's 'devil'. e-plus in Germany is said to offer 40 Euro flat fee for 3G access with Skype embedded. What next?