The Great Debate UK

Growth of mobile commerce taps touch Web users

Photo

Picture shows Steve Ives, CEO of Taptu. REUTERS/Julie Mollins

As the mobile phone industry puts more emphasis on marketing hand-held smartphones, consumers are finding ways to dodge restrictive model-compatible applications by using Web-based programs.

Unlike single-device applications, mobile touch websites run on most mobile browsers freeing users from reliance on a specific operating system.

A recent study by Taptu suggests that the mobile touch web will play an important role in expanding mobile commerce.

The economics of software development and publishing favours Web-friendly applications, the study says, although some experts argue that certain applications benefit from being platform-specific.

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