Author: Stephen

Visa and ROAM set sights on mobile commerce

| February 27, 2013

Mobile Commerce Visa and ROAM partnerVisa making moves to expand mobile commerce

Visa has taken a strong interest in mobile commerce recently. The company has been working to broaden its horizons as the world of commerce evolves due to the proliferation of mobile technology. More consumers are relying on their smart phones and tablets to make purchases online as well as manage their various bank accounts. Some businesses, especially those in the retail sector, have found it difficult to keep up with consumers in the realm of mobile commerce, leading Visa to take steps to expand the availability of tools these businesses have to accommodate the needs of consumers.

Visa and ROAM team to make acceptance of mobile commerce easier for businesses

Visa has announced that it has entered into an agreement with ROAM, a leading mobile commerce provider. Through this new partnership, the two companies aims to expanding the reach of mobile commerce into new merchant categories. Visa plans to make adopting mobile commerce easier for businesses through making secure mobile payment acceptance solutions more available to them. ROAM is a leader in mobile payment acceptance technology and the company’s solutions are expected to be put to good use by Visa.

Commerce beginning to shift

Visa has an overarching goal of displacing cash payments. Traditional forms of currency have been the dominating force in commerce for as long as commerce has existed, but the advent of technology is beginning to cause a shift in the way people pay for products. Computers opened up the way for electronic purchases, something that Visa claims is significantly more secure and efficient for consumers. The popularity of mobile devices is accelerating this shift away from traditional forms of commerce, and Visa is positioning itself to ensure that mobile commerce becomes a very dominant economic force.

New partnership may help businesses  accommodate consumer demand

Businesses have shown extreme interest in adopting mobile commerce services, largely spurred by demand coming from consumers all over the world. It has been difficult for these businesses to accommodate this demand, however, due to the relatively few mobile commerce point-of-sale platforms available to them. The new partnership between Visa and ROAM may help solve this problem.

Mobile games eclipse portable consoles in revenue

| February 25, 2013

Mobile Games Eclipse Portable ConsolesMobile games generate more revenue than portable consoles

Mobile devices like smartphones and tablets have come to play a major role in the game industry. The advent of smartphones birthed the popularity of applications, relatively light pieces of software that provide services and entertainment for people all over the world. As smartphones became more advanced, so too did their applications. Mobile games have become the most popular of these applications, and they have benefitted tremendously from the advances made in mobile technology. Now, these mobile games are generating revenue that is dwarfing that produced through the game industry’s much touted portable consoles.

Consoles not living up to expectations

Nintendo and Sony are the biggest names in the portable console market. Both companies recently released portable consoles that were highly anticipated among consumers. Despite this anticipation, however, these consoles did not sell as well as the companies had hopes. Both the Nintendo 3DS and Sony Playstation Vita have seen lackluster sales globally and because these consoles are not universally favored by consumers, the games they support have generated less revenue than Sony and Nintendo would have liked.

Data highlights popularity of mobile games

Research firms IDC and App Annie have release data concerning the disparity in the revenues generated through mobile games and portable consoles. The data shows that portable consoles see high sales during holiday seasons, but mobile games account for year-round spending. Approximately 60% of all app spending in Apple’s App Store, and 80% in Google Play, was directed to mobile games. Most of these games include in-game transactions, which entice gamers to purchase power-ups or virtual currencies in order to gain an edge.

Game industry continues to adjust to the clout of mobile devices

The mobile games market has become extremely influential in the overall game industry. Large developers that had, in the past, been focused exclusively on consoles are beginning to set their sights on mobile devices in order to tap into a new generation of consumers. Publishers like Electronic Arts and Activision are also taking a strong position on mobile gaming, expecting to see major success in this market that they have not seen in portable consoles.