The Mobile Commerce Revolution: Business Success in a Wireless World

1. The Current State of Mobile

Here’s a prediction: Right now, as you are reading this, you are within arm’s reach of a smartphone. How did we do? To be honest, it wasn’t a difficult prediction to make. Today, the majority of Americans own a smartphone, and 83% of them say they are always or nearly always within reach of their mobile device. You can walk into a convenience store, buy a prepaid, no-contract smartphone for under $100, and have the Internet in your pocket.

For years, technologists have been talking about “convergence” devices—technology that replaces two or more gadgets and gizmos. The smartphone has truly become the ultimate convergence device. Think about the devices it has replaced: media players, navigation devices, guidebooks, ...