Mobile Shopping

Imagine going to a multiplex and deciding what movie to go for by simply downloading the VIDEO TRAILORS instantaneously on your mobile phone and purchasing the ticket from an electric video poster. You will also able to buy popcorns, soft drinks and even pay your parking tickets by just punching in certain numbers on your mobile phone at specially marked kiosks. Sounds too good to be true or seems like a scene straight out of a sci-fi movie? But hold on - this is no figment of the imagination. The technology for all this is now a reality at the French tourist town of Caen. In an experiment involving companies like Orange and Philips and the town mayor’s office, Caen’s citizen have been using this technology since December 2005 at a number of locations, including an underground car park, the town hall and a bus stop that transmits information on bus schedules. The town also has a cinema poster that enables the users to download video trailers, a supermarket where people can pay for their groceries via a mobile phone, and a tourist information sign outside the historical Abbaye des Hommes.

To avail of this sophisticated service, all one needs is a near field communication (NFC) compatible mobile phone. NFC is a technology that is used for exchanging data from the consumer’s electronic devices (personal computers, mobile phones). The system is based on the phenomenon of inductive coupling, where loosely coupled inductive circuits share power and data over small distances. It operates within a frequency range of 13.56MHz. When NFC-compliant devices are brought close together, they detect the presence of the other device and begin to determine how they can interact to transfer the data. The ability to read and write to tags makes it potentially adaptive as a platform wider than just advertising and ticketing. Visa USA, Philips, Nokia, Cingular, Atlanta Spirit, Chase, and ViVOtech have been working on a major NFC trial that has been underway at the Philips Arena stadium in Atlanta, Georgia, allowing sport fans to buy goods at the concession stands easily. Consumers can also access and download contents like ringtones, wallpapers, screensavers and clippings of their favourite players and artists by holding the NFC-enabled phone in front of a poster embedded with an NFC tag.