User connections are slow and screen real estate is limited, but that's just the physical problems. Users' mobile context will force the logic of applications to change. For example, the types of airline information users want at the airport and the travel transactions they wish to conduct are inherently different from those they'll seek when they're planning a vacation from their home two months before a trip. At the airport, a user will want immediate access to real-time alternatives if a flight is canceled, the cost to jump onto another airline and the ability to instantly purchase the new ticket. And the problems don't end with the applications.
Wireless networks are barely up to the task of mobile commerce.
To harness this category's full potential, wireless networks need to be packet-based, to provide permanent virtual connections that allow faster transactions and the ability to push alerts. Higher speeds will also improve session quality. But stick to applications in which information can be conveyed in small chunks and that don't require a lot of interaction. And keep them text based. Although we believe location technology will be available by 2002, technical hurdles and privacy issues are associated with deploying a technology that lets organizations know users' constant whereabouts.