Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Technology Stocks : PALM - The rebirth of Palm Inc. -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Mang Cheng who wrote (3360)	1/12/2001 2:56:28 AM
From: Mang Cheng	Respond to of 6784

"Handheld commerce" When the creators of PayPal sat in Bucks Restaurant and downloaded their $3 million in venture funding onto their Palm Pilots (a bit of city lore, and maybe even true), a moment in handheld e-commerce history was in the making. Similar moments may be described for buying books on Amazon.com (AMZN, news, msgs) or trading stocks using your phone, the first time you used a Global Positioning System unit with your car or boat navigation system, and the day you first understood any deep aspect of Chaos Mathematics. SNSers have long anticipated the day when, armed with either E-Phones or Universal SmartCards with RF devices, we would be able to authenticate ourselves and make credit/debit purchases wirelessly with our wee little pocket units. Just breeze through the grocery checkout, and, in the same motion, wave to the checkout girl and charge $155.46 on our Visa account. That day is not quite here yet. But a demonstration at the Consumer Electronics Show this week by Palm (PALM, news, msgs) Chief Executive Carl Yankowski got us a bit closer. Calling it "the first-ever e-wallet purchase," Carl bought three items from a specially constructed Sharper Image store using his Palm, upgraded with technology from a deal closed this week with Visa, Ingenico and Verifone. The Palm contained his encrypted credit card data (Visa) and sent it via a secure (Ingenico) infrared beam to a remote reader (Verifone). The transaction also required a Personal Identification Number, which is the authentication part still missing from the ultimate e-device. While good arguments can be made that Carl was standing a little hard on the hyperbole pedal, nevertheless it matters when the largest card issuer, card reader and handheld-platform companies put a system together that at least appears to work. Although I still suspect that, in the longer run, either e-phones, USCs, and/or CarryAlongPCs will be the formats used for e-wallets, tonight it is the Palm. What matters most, today, is that we just got one large step closer to wireless retail payment. moneycentral.msn.com Mang