M-Commerce... is the U.S. ready for mobile-driven purchases?

M-Commerce - also known as Mobile Commerce, Mobile eBusiness, Wireless Commerce is coming to a cell phone on you soon!

Definition:
M-Commerce (mobile commerce) is the buying and selling of goods and services through wireless handheld devices such as cellular telephone and personal digital assistants (PDAs). Known as next-generation e-commerce, m-commerce enables users to access the Internet without needing to find a place to plug in. The emerging technology behind M-Commerce, which is based on the Wireless Application Protocol (WAP.

M-Commerce has gain a wider acceptance in Europe verses the U.S. due to the fact that more European mobile devices are equipped with Web-ready micro-browsers. To increase the adoption rate of M-Commerce in the U.S. handset and wireless carriers need to develop WAP-enabled smartphones. Handset manufacturers like Motorola,Ericsson, Nokia, and Qualcomm need to partner with Sprint, ATT and the gang to get this fixed!

Oh - and not to mention that many companies and indsutries are grappling with such a business model. Who gets paid for the sale - the store, the carrier or the browser who brought the customer? More to come on this issue in later posts!