> From: jani@sanpo.t.u-tokyo.ac.jp
>
> This is ridiculously complex and, I suspect, doomed to failure.
>
> The way the wireless vending machines in Finland work is that
> the user dials a number printed on the machine, is charged the
> price of a Coke can for the call, and the Coke is delivered
> immediately. Time required is however long it takes you to
> punch in the 9 digits of a typical Finnish phone number, or
> less if you're an addict like me who stores the number in the
> phone itself. My jaw dropped the first time I saw this and
> I still think it's amazing, probably the only cool thing the
> rest of the world has done with mobiles that Japan has not
> yet caught on to... and is now, ineptly, trying to copy.
Sounds like we want mobile devices to have a convenient standardized data
transfer port like IR, etc.
> The first problem is one of authorization vs. authentication.
> The Finnish model assumes that anyone with a phone is
> authorized to buy a Coke; the Japanese model insists on
> authenticating that the person with the phone is the owner
> of the phone ("verifies the user's identity" just means enter
> security code, right?), adding an additional layer of complexity.
Seems like the mobile device should be treated like credit cards - when a
user loses one will report to issuing authority. Mobile service companies
(Docomo, etc), like credit card companies, will take a transaction
percentage to cover the losses from stolen devices, non-payment, profit
margin, etc.
> The second problem is even worse, namely, why on earth the
> user still has to stuff physical cash into the i-vending
> machine, instead of just having the charge appear on the
> phone bill at the end of the month. It's stupid, it's
> inconvinient, and you get the chicken-and-egg problem which
> has caused the failure of all digicash systems to date.
> Why should I take perfectly usable cash and turn it into
> random unrefundable e-roubles that I can only use in a
> few places while the trial lasts?
Again, makes sense to move towards the credit card model (but with more
flexibility).
Jonathan Shore
E-Publishing Group K.K.
[ Did you check the archives? http://www.appelsiini.net/keitai-l/ ]
Received on Thu Mar 29 07:20:46 2001