Page 85 - Electronic Commerce

Chapter 2

Although the first Internet-capable mobile phones were developed in the late 1990s, a number of

60 technological issues prevented them from being very useful as a way to browse the Internet. Their

screens were small and lacked color, they did not have alphanumeric keyboards, their ability to store

information was limited, and the networks through which they connected to the Internet were slow

and unreliable. In 2001, Handspring introduced its Treo phones, and Research in Motion (RIM) intro-

duced its BlackBerry phones. These mobile phones included small alphanumeric keyboards, signifi-

cantly larger memory capacities than other phones of the time, and were designed for quick access to

e-mail. Nokia was quick to follow with smartphones that had similar features.

By 2009, every major phone manufacturer offered a range of smartphones and Internet-capable

mobile phones. At first, most of these phones were too expensive for markets in developing countries;

however, by 2011, a variety of more reasonably priced Internet-capable mobile phones were being

sold throughout the world. By 2013, Samsung was selling low-priced smartphones specifically tar-

geted at markets in developing countries. Also, Chinese phone manufacturers were producing low-

priced smartphones for their domestic market.

Although many companies have created Web pages for their mobile users that are designed to

be used without a mouse and that are readable on the relatively small screens of phones, more than

80 percent have not. Mobile-ready interfaces are necessary before phones and tablets can be fully

used as tools of electronic commerce. As more online businesses realize that mobile phone users

are potential customers, more of them will redesign their Web sites to give mobile users a better

experience, thus accelerating the growth of electronic commerce, especially in developing countries.

In more technologically advanced countries, mobile phones and tablet devices are tools of con-
venience; they provide continual access to e-mail and the Web for busy people who work from

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