WiFi phones are coming

A WiFi phone is a phone for making a voice call, over a wireless (typically over a WLAN connection). They can be "merged" with mobile phones into a single device (like this one by NEC for DoCoMom available in Japan), they can be "made" by just adding a WiFi capability to an existing device (such as a handheld), or they may look like your typical cordless phone at home.

From a Wireless Wallet point of view they are interesting because the WLAN can be used as a comm link for transactions. See this article too.

Daily Wireless has a good article on "WiFi Phones"; there are quite a few of them out there and more are coming out as VoIP is moving into the home/consumer market since a WiFi phone that uses wireless to connect to the broadband connection makes sense. See also this other Daily Wireless article on some of the latest VoWiFi (Voice WiFi phones) coming out now or in the near future.

Signs of life for wireless wallets in the US

The article seems to suggest that US companies are warming up to the idea, but perhaps they are not sure where to start from.

Wireless wallets come closer to reality:

"U.S. companies have been quiet about mobile commerce since hype about wireless wallets was deflated when the dot.com bubble burst in 2000. Many are still skeptical, but some are warming to the idea again amid U.S. and overseas developments."

"Some analysts question whether this technology, known as near field communications, will catch on as it requires an extra chip in phones and widespread acceptance by advertisers"

A great place for researching mobile payment solutions

The ePayments Systems Observatory is a great starting place for unearthing information about mobile payment solutions:

The ePSO inventory is a database on electronic payment systems, related projects and initiatives. Its geographical scope is Europe, but relevant activities outside Europe are also sometimes taken into account in a selective way (e.g. innovations). Although the focus is on payment inititiatives, also several interoperability, technical and strategic initiatives are included.

It includes a search facility, which is great if you want to search for specific terms. If instead, you want to see solutions by country, topic or system name, try this one. Finally, it includes some interesting papers.

Documentation

From the other Wireless Wallet Blog: "We now have extensive documentation for Wireless Wallet."

Another company that claims using a mobile's camera to "read" barcodes

SCANBUY | Optical Intelligence for your mobile phones: " Scanbuy's Optical Intelligence™ is a full software solution turning camera phone into personal barcode scanners. Optical Intelligence™ reads and translates barcodes on-device through the use of low-cost CMOS imager based digital cameras."

Free software for "reading" barcodes with a mobile phone

... and a lot of other interesting stuff involving mobiles and barcodes

Semacode | URL barcodes | practical ubiquitous computing: How it works

Semacode tags such as the one at left are based on the international ISO/IEC standard Data Matrix. A semacode tag uses this type of optical 2D barcode to store a URL in a secure format that can resist up to 50% damage to the tag.

Application developers and general users can create their own semacode tags using the Tagger tools. It's a simple matter of typing in a valid URL and then posting the barcode wherever you like. Anyone is free to create as many different semacode tags as they like.

When you have semacode tags to read, the solution is the semacode Reader tools. The reader tool is available in many forms to suit the needs of different audiences. For example, there is Reader software for common Java Phones, smartphones, and also for PCs and internet servers. The Reader takes advantage of the camera that is found in most contemporary mobile phones.

A good pointer about mixing phones and barcodes

Ericsson: Barcodes come to mobile phones:
"A number of companies are developing applications and middleware that can turn a standard camera phone into a portable barcode scanner. This combined with WAP and GPRS opens up a world of possibilities for new applications and services. Mobile barcode scanning is being used to improve logistics, allow instant time reporting for working in the field and provide ways to link the physical world to the web."

Turning your smartphone into a universal code reader for Data Matrix, QR and linear barcodes

Reading barcodes with a phone ...

Lavasphere for Smartphones - Turning your smartphone into a universal code reader for Data Matrix, QR and linear barcodes: "Simply by scanning a code on a poster, in a magazine or on the product itself, up-to-date availability information can be requested direct­ly. Using the integrated Lavasphere application, users can download a train schedule, make a reservation for a concert ticket or simply connect to the appropriate website. Scanning a phone number on a business card will store the information in the user's personal contacts. Codes are captured by the built-in camera and decoded by the Lavasphere software, with the result available to any application.

Easy-to-use software with immediate image preview and Zero-Click™ live-stream decoding allows for easy targeting and decoding. The image processing algorithms allow for omni-directional decoding of all 1d and 2d codes."

Motorola Announces Dual Mode GSM / Wi-Fi Phone (Phone Scoop)

Motorola Announces Dual Mode GSM / Wi-Fi Phone (Phone Scoop): "While the A910 maintains the same feature list and even the same size, it packs a big data surprise: 802.11 b/g Wi-Fi in addition to Bluetooth and tri-band GSM/GPRS (EDGE). The phone also includes UMA for seamless roaming between Wi-Fi and cellular networks. Features include a 1.3 MP camera with Lumi-LED flash, TransFlash memory card slot, QVGA screen and speaker-independent voice recognition. Available Q1 2006."

Mobile payments in China

It seems that there is a mobile payments in China (SMS based): SmartPay Jieyin Ltd: About Us

Pay, with SmartPay

An example of a typical SmartPay transaction is the payment of a monthly mobile phone bill. The mobile operator sends the bill directly to a SmartPay user's phone through SMS. The user simply has to reply, and SmartPay deducts payment from the user's bank account and credits the merchant. It is simple, fast, and safe. Users can also access the system through web, WAP, IVR, and other convenient interfaces.

How SmartPay Works

SmartPay works by linking a user's bank account to their mobile phone number. The user can register for the service through a phone bank interface, the internet or at the bank counter. The mobile phone then acts as a 'digital identity' certifying the user and allowing SmartPay to process payments on their behalf for products and services purchased from participating SmartPay merchants.