E-Commerce:Mobile Commerce and Pervasive Computing

Module 07
Mobile Commerce and Pervasive Computing:

Mobile Computing:

Overview of Mobile Commerce:

Mobile commerce (m-commerce, m-business): Any business activity conducted over a wireless telecommunications network.

Fig: The Mobile Commerce Landscape:

Mobile Computing Devices:

Personal digital assistant (PDA): A handheld computer principally used for personal information management.

Smartphone: Internet-enabled cell phones that can support mobile applications

Blackberry: A handheld device principally used for e-mail.

Wireless mobile computing (mobile computing): Computing that connects a mobile device to a network or another computing device, anytime, anywhere.

Synchronization: The exchange of updated information with other computing devices.

Fig: The Wireless Mobile Environment:

Mobile Computing Software:

Micro-browser: Wireless Web browser designed to operate with small screens and limited bandwidth and memory requirements.

Wireless Application Protocol (WAP): A suite of network protocols designed to enable different kinds of wireless devices to access WAP readable files on an Internet-connected Web server.

Wireless Markup Language (WML): A scripting language used to create content in the WAP environment; based on XML, minus unnecessary content to increase speed

Compact Hypertext Markup Language (cHTML): A scripting language used to create content in i-mode

Extensible Hypertext Markup Language (xHTML): A general scripting language; compatible with HTML; set by W3 Consortium

Voice XML (VXML): An extension of XML designed to accommodate voice.

Fig: WAP Architecture

Mobile Computing Services:

Short Message Service (SMS): A service that supports the sending and receiving of short text messages on mobile phones

Enhanced Messaging Service (EMS): An extension of SMS that can send simple animation, tiny pictures, sounds, and formatted text

Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS): The next generation of wireless messaging; MMS will be able to deliver rich media

Micropayments: Electronic payments for small-purchase amounts (generally less than $10)

Global positioning system (GPS): A worldwide satellite-based tracking system that enables users to determine their position anywhere on the earth

Interactive voice response (IVR): A computer voice system that enables users to request and receive information and to enter and change data through a telephone

Voice portal: A Web site with an audio interface that can be accessed through a telephone call

Wireless Telecommunications Networks:

Personal Area Networks:

Personal area network (PAN): A wireless telecommunications network for device-to-device connections within a small range

Bluetooth: A set of telecommunications standards that enables wireless devices to communicate with each other over short distances

Wireless Local Area Networks:

Wireless local area network (WLAN): A telecommunications network that enables users to make medium-range wireless connections to the Internet or another network

Wi-Fi (wireless fidelity): The common name used to describe the IEEE 802.11 standard used on most WLANs

802.11b: The most popular Wi-Fi standard; it is inexpensive and offers sufficient speed for most devices; however, interference can be a problem

802.11a: This Wi-Fi standard is faster than 802.11b but has a smaller range

802.11g: This fast but expensive Wi-Fi standard is mostly used in businesses

Wireless access point: An antenna that connects a mobile device to a wired LAN

Hotspot: An area or point where a wireless laptop or PDA can make a connection to a wireless local area network

Exhibit 9.5 How Wi-Fi Works:

Wireless Metropolitan Area Networks:

Wi-Max: A wireless standard (IEEE 802.16) for making broadband network connections over a large area

Wireless metropolitan area network (WMAN): A telecommunications network that enables users to make long-range wireless connections to the Internet or another network

Wireless Wide Area Networks:

Wireless wide area network (WWAN): A telecommunications network that offers wireless coverage over a large geographical area, typically over a cellular phone network

Physical Topology of a WWAN:

Subscriber identification module (SIM) card: An extractable storage card used for identification, customer location information, transaction processing, secure communications, and the like

Exhibit 9.6 Cellular Telephone Network:

WWAN Communication Bandwidths:

•         1G. The first generation of wireless technology, which was analog based

•         2G. The second generation of digital wireless technology; accommodates voice and text

•         2.5G. An interim wireless technology that can accommodate voice, text, and, limited graphics

•         3G. The third generation of digital wireless technology; supports rich media such as video

•         4G. The expected next generation of wireless technology that will provide faster display of multimedia

WWAN Communication Protocols:

•         Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA)

•         Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA)

•         Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA)

WWAN Network Systems:

Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM):  An open, nonproprietary standard for mobile voice and data communications

Mobile Commerce:

Attributes of M-Commerce:

–        Ubiquity

–        Convenience

–        Interactivity

–        Personalization

–        Localization

Mobile Financial Applications:

Mobile Banking:

Wireless Electronic Payment Systems:

–        Wireless Wallets

M-wallet (mobile wallet): Technologies that enable cardholders to make purchases with a single click from their wireless device

Wireless Bill Payments:

–        A number of companies now provide the option of paying bills directly from a cell phone

Mobile Shopping, Advertising, and Content Provision:

Wireless Shopping:

–        An increasing number of online vendors allow customers to shop from wireless devices

–        Enables customers to use cell phones or wireless PDAs to:

•         Perform quick searches

•         Compare prices

•         Use a shopping cart

•         Order

•         View the status of their order

Targeted Advertising:

–        Marketers send user-specific advertising messages to wireless devices

–        Location-sensitive advertising informs buyers about shops, malls, and restaurants close to where the mobile device owner is located

Mobile portal:

A customer interaction channel that aggregates content and services for mobile users

Mobile Intra-business Applications:

Support of Mobile Employees:

Sales force mobilization: The process of equipping sales force employees with wireless computing devices

–        Job Dispatch

Wearable devices: Mobile wireless computing devices for employees who work on buildings and other climbable workplaces

Customer Support:

Mobile access extends the reach of CRM to both employees and business partners on a 24/7 basis, to any place where recipients are located

Non-Internet Intrabusiness Applications:

–        Wireless networking, used to pick items out of storage in warehouses

–        Delivery-status updates

–        Collection of data

–        Monthly pay slips sent as SMS messages sent to employees’ mobile phones

–        Property adjusters report from the scene of an accident

–        Sales representatives check orders and inventories during their visits to customers

B2B M-Commerce and Supply Chain Management:

•         Use of wireless communication to share information along the supply chain and to collaborate with partners

•         By integrating the mobile computing device into supply chain communications, it is possible to:

–        Make mobile reservations of goods

–        Remotely check availability of a particular item in the warehouse

–        Order a customized product from the manufacturing department

–        Provide secure access to confidential financial data from a management information system

Mobile Consumer and Personal Service Applications:

•         Mobile Games

•         Wireless Telemedicine

•         Other Mobile Computing Services for Consumers

•         Non-Internet Mobile Applications for Consumers

Location-Based Mobile Commerce:

Location-based m-commerce: Delivery of m-commerce transactions to individuals in a specific location, at a specific time

•         The services provided through location-based m-commerce focus on five key areas:

–        Location

–        Navigation

–        Tracking

–        Mapping

–        Timing

Global Positioning System (GPS): A worldwide satellite-based tracking system that enables users to determine their position anywhere on the earth

Geographical information system (GIS): An information system that integrates GPS data onto digitized map displays

Emergency Response Cell Phone Calls:

Wireless 911 (e-911): In the United States, emergency response calls from cellular phones

Automatic crash notification (ACN): Device that automatically sends the police the location of a vehicle that has been involved in a crash

Telematics: The integration of computers and wireless communications to improve information flow using the principles of telemetry

Barriers to Location-Based M-Commerce:

–        Accuracy of devices

–        The cost-benefit justification

–        Limited network bandwidth

–        Invasion of privacy

Security and Other Barriers to Mobile Commerce:

M-Commerce Security Issues:

–        Malicious Code

–        Transaction Security

–        Wireless Communication

–        Physical Security of Mobile Devices

–        Ease of Use

Technological Barriers to M-Commerce:

Ethical, Legal, and Health Issues in M-Commerce:

Project Failures in M-Commerce:

–        Do not start without appropriate infrastructure

–        Do not start a full-scale implementation; use a small pilot for experimentation

–        Pick an appropriate architecture (e.g., some users do not need to be persistently connected)

–        Talk with a range of users, some experienced and some not, about usability issues

–        Users must be involved; hold biweekly meetings if possible

–        Employ wireless experts

–        Wireless is a different medium from other forms of communication. Remember that people are not used to the wireless paradigm

Pervasive Computing:

Overview of Pervasive Computing:

Pervasive computing: Invisible, everywhere computing that is embedded in the objects around us

Principles of Pervasive Computing:

•         Decentralization

•         Diversification

•         Connectivity

•         Simplicity

Contextual computing: The enhancement of a user’s interactions by understanding the user, the context, and the applications and information required

Pervasive Computing Initiatives:

Radio frequency identification (RFID): Technology that uses radio waves to identify items

Electronic product code (EPC): An RFID code that identifies the manufacturer, producer, version, and serial number of individual consumer products

–        Smart Homes

•         Lighting

•         Energy management

•         Water control

•         Home security and communications

•         Home entertainment

–        Smart Appliances

–        Smart Cars

–        Smart Clothes

Sensor network:

A series of interconnected sensors that monitor the environment in which they are placed

Sensor networks can:

•         Protect the environment

•         Public safety

•         Monitor business and agricultural areas

Barriers to Pervasive Computing:

–        For pervasive systems to be widely deployed, it is necessary to overcome many of the technical, ethical, and legal barriers associated with mobile computing