M-Commerce: Advantages and Disadvantages

The merger of mobile information and communication technologies (ICTs) in e-commerce has resulted in a field of endeavor known as mobile commerce or m-commerce.

Advantages of m-commerce:

• Ubiquity - independent access anytime
• Reachability
• Form factors
• Convenience and accessibility
• Security 

Disadvantages of m-commerce:

• Small screens of most devices still limit types of file and data transfer (i.e. streaming videos, etc.)
• Standards guiding applications and technology development and connection(s)
• WAP and SMS limited to small number of characters and text.
• Use of graphics limited
• Less functionality for mobile Internet over mobile phones and existing generation of handhelds than for mobile computers (laptops and next generation handhelds)