Do you understand what a mobile payment is?

What is a mobile payment? There's a surprising amount of misinformation around. To make matters worse confusion is made worse by everyone seeming to have their own definition.

Then there is the hype. It could be a payment company executive promising the "end of the physical wallet," or investors claiming there's a "gold rush" going on.

Mobile Payments Today feel pretty strongly on this and want to cut through all the hype and clear things up. To do this they have published an infographic. This is a highly detailed, informative chart that will help folk understand the basics of mobile payments and why everyone is paying so much attention to them.


Most. Important. Mobile payment infographic. Ever.
Compliments of MobilePaymentsToday.com

Can we forecast human behaviour?

Software programs based on game theory are being used to predict political outcomes and track down terrorists

Richard is in mellow mood as he muses about the Glenlivet range of single malt whiskies

Richard, Citadel Advantage’s own whisky expert, has been traveling again and this has prompted some more reminiscences.

He writes; “My recent travels on British Airways reminded me of a Single Malt Whisky moment I had a few years ago…


As you may know British Airways differentiates its travel classes with different aged Glenlivet expressions. Economy class gets the pedestrian 12 yo, Business class is honoured with the 15 yo, while First class is pampered with the 18 yo beauty ….”

To read the rest please visit http://whiskyisrael.co.il/2011/09/11/musing-about-the-glenlivet-range/

Location, Location, Location!

When we turn on our smartphones we expect instant magic. We expect the world around us to come alive with information, offers and much, much more.

The leverage generated by the mobile phone and your location has created an amazing pace of innovation around apps and platforms. Location is not only about big US cities either. It’s global and it’s for every town, small and large.

The entry price is low, the tools are available to everyone, and there are no geographical boundaries. All this has got venture capitalists and entrepreneurs excited.

OpenTable.com is a multi billion dollar public company focused on restaurant reservations, Location brings the software to life. The power of location allows Opentable to suggest nearby restaurants, and offers available inventory. The same goes for the incredibly-fast-growing Uber, the mobile application that sends a cab directly to you with the push of a button on your iPhone.

These are just some of the companies who are leveraging mobile location to monetize routine tedious tasks.

Tesco Homeplus virtual subway store in South Korea

The future is here! When grocery chain Tesco wanted to expand their market share in South Korea, they came up with a brilliant idea. They created a virtual store at the subway entrances. Shoppers use their smartphones and QR codes to do their grocery shopping, with actual physical delivery of their purchases when they arrive home.

Banks face US lawsuit over toxic mortgage debt

The new Windows smartphone

Industry analysts are predicting it will take the Windows Phone 7 platform just three years to surpass Apple's mighty iOS.

Microsoft's mobile operating system will reportedly have a 20.3% market share by 2015, pushing iOS into third place, according to research by Gartner and IDC.

The report also says Apple will only maintain a 17 per cent slice of the mobile pie whilst Android will maintain a healthy lead of 49 per cent.

At IFA 2011, Achim Berg, head of Windows Phone 7 marketing, told Bloomberg: 'This is a completely new platform, it takes time. It took time with Android, it took time with Apple. We have to show that we’re very capable and that we have the fastest and easiest phone.'

If you've not seen Windows Phone 7 or Mango in action take a look at the video below which is a mini-guided tour of some of the 500 new features that will soon be available.

Have ATMs changed since their invention? Hardly!

A concept ATM machine reminds us that cash dispensers have changed hardly at all since their introduction.

An exhibit at New York’s Museum of Modern Art shows that ATMs have hardly changed since their inception.  The Museum’s “Talk to me” exhibit, examines new and creative ways to interact with technology. One of the highlights is a concept ATM machine.

This concept ATM isn't just the normal functions of a cash machine plus style. It also makes change, offering the user bills in any denomination, a feature that many real ATMs offered as recently as 20 years ago. What we only sacrifice in the name of cost savings!

Trial, error and the God complex - Tim Harford

Economics writer Tim Harford studies complex systems - and finds a surprising link among the successful ones: they were built through trial and error. In this sparkling talk from TEDGlobal 2011, he asks us to embrace our randomness and start making better mistakes.