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Technology Stocks : Nokia (NOK) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: scratchmyback who wrote (20785)	6/17/2002 12:42:19 PM
From: waitwatchwander	Respond to of 34857

Mobile phone pays the bills vnunet.com phone pays the bills By Nick Farrell [17-06-2002] Nokia and Octopus join forces on hybrid m-commerce device A pay-as-you-go mobile phone that also enables the purchase of products has been launched by Nokia and Octopus of Hong Kong. The hybrid device, dubbed Octo-Phone, is a Nokia phone with an Octopus contactless smart card engraved into its case, allowing limited m-commerce on mobile phones. Octopus smart cards are already in use in Hong Kong to buy a range of things from bus fares to products, but this is the first time the cards have been tied to a mobile phone. Now users can use the phone at a merchant outlet with the transaction amount debited from the card's value. According to the Bangkok Post, Nokia 3310 or 3330 users need to buy a Nokia Octopus Phone case to replace their current one. Eric Tai, chief executive at Octopus Card, was quoted as saying that combining the two technologies into a single device was a natural move to add more convenience and value to the public. "The response to this initial attempt has been overwhelming and encouraging," Tai said. "This is not a new device; the card and the phone are totally independent," he added. "Nonetheless, the merging of these two widely used devices is receiving positive reviews." Both Nokia and Octopus are discussing ideas to improve the service. A more powerful phone would allow customers to reload their card through their mobile network. It would also be usable for a wider variety of commerce applications. Nokia has launched a similar pilot programme in Singapore. The trial, which began in April, involves 1,000 participants and will run until 31 August. Nokia is conducting a DBS Mobile Payment Pilot testing programme, which offers 200 DBS and POSBank customers the ability to make fund transfers using specially modified Nokia phones.