InformationWeek

he current generation of Web-enabled mobile phones are good for many reasons. Shopping just isn't one of them yet.

David Nguyen uses Ericsson's R280LX on the AT&T Wireless network in Los Angeles. "I like it for information and entertainment," he says. He plays games with it when he's stuck in line and gets text-only directions from MapQuest when he's lost. He also uses it to look up movie show times, which he says takes about as much time as using a dial-up modem and fixed connection to attach to the wired Web. "But it's too clunky to use for shopping," he adds. "There are just too many buttons to push."

So far, mobile-commerce adoption has been strongest in Northern Europe, says Randy Covill, a senior analyst for retail applications services at AMR Research. "Actual buying with cell phones is very low right now" in the United States.

For Nguyen, the unit's navigability, download times, and its tiny, monochromatic screen make for tough going. He also wants to be able to open several active windows, something the unit doesn't support.

Nguyen's complaints are common among users who try to combine Web access and wireless technologies. They also speak to the problems of trying to use a narrowband terminal with a broadband service. "It's a database problem on one end and a bad interface on the other," says Craig Mathias, a principal at consulting firm the Farpoint Group. "High latency, low throughput, and gray-scale screens just don't cut it. Wireless Access Protocol is painful, and it does the best it can, so a lot depends on the next generation of subscriber units."

New and better terminals are entering the market that could make browsing and buying wirelessly less painful. Ericsson is taking the wraps off its R380 model, a "smart phone" that combines voice, Web browsing, organizer, and notepad in a wireless handset. It's priced at $600.

The PC-EPhone from Cyberbank Co. combines PDA functions with a Code Division Multiple Access-based cellular phone. It can play MP3 and MPEG clips with a transmission rate of 64 Kbps and is priced at about $1,700.

Those vendors have plenty of company. Kyocera Wireless Corp. and Palm Inc. have jointly created a smart phone with handheld computing capabilities, and even Microsoft is working on a voice-enabled version of its PocketPC.

Covill says that wireless is well-suited for airlines, online brokerages, and even in-store retail applications, where a sales associate uses a PDA to get warranty information, product specs, or pricing. "The screen has to be bigger. And how much extra weight are you really willing to carry around? It's hard for me to see that as a convenient shopping solution," he says. "These are simply tools, and if they are used well, they can extend the reach of the retailer and extend customer relationships to the benefit of both retailer and customers."