Mobile commerce service provider

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A mobile commerce service provider (mCSP) is an organization (or company) that provides any combination of consulting, software and computer systems for mobile e-commerce platforms, mobile devices (cellular phones, smartphones), mobile commerce, mobile content or mobile web sites.

A company, abbreviated as co., is a legal entity made up of an association of people, be they natural, legal, or a mixture of both, for carrying on a commercial or industrial enterprise. Company members share a common purpose, and unite to focus their various talents and organize their collectively available skills or resources to achieve specific, declared goals. Companies take various forms, such as:

E-commerce is the activity of buying or selling of products on online services or over the Internet. Electronic commerce draws on technologies such as mobile commerce, electronic funds transfer, supply chain management, Internet marketing, online transaction processing, electronic data interchange (EDI), inventory management systems, and automated data collection systems.

A mobile device is a computing device small enough to hold and operate in the hand. Typically, any handheld computer device will have an LCD FHD or OLED flatscreen interface, providing a touchscreen interface with digital buttons and keyboard or physical buttons along with a physical keyboard. Many such devices can connect to the Internet and interconnect with other devices such as car entertainment systems or headsets via Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, cellular networks, near field communication (NFC). Integrated cameras, digital media players, the ability to place and receive telephone calls, video games, and Global Positioning System (GPS) capabilities are common. Power is typically provided by a lithium battery. Mobile devices may run mobile operating systems that allow third-party apps specialized for said capabilities to be installed and run.

mCSPs supply businesses with the tools and services they need to distribute and sell products and services over both the Internet and Mobile Internet and manage their online enterprises. Specifically, these firms specialize in all aspects of mobile commerce, including for all digital goods (games, video, ringtones, wallpapers and applications) that are downloaded to mobile devices.

mCSPs provide service in areas such as

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The term mobile commerce was originally coined in 1997 by Kevin Duffey at the launch of the Global Mobile Commerce Forum, to mean "the delivery of electronic commerce capabilities directly into the consumer’s hand, anywhere, via wireless technology." Many choose to think of Mobile Commerce as meaning "a retail outlet in your customer’s pocket."

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