This is technically possible and secure (any amount of security software and hardware could be incorporated in a mobile phone), and it would not generate the fear of fraud that currently exists with credit cards.

ECONOMIST: Letters

The software is simple, and vaguely reminiscent of an older mobile phone.

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Meanwhile, Bloomberg reports that Microsoft is tinkering with a new version of its Windows Phone 7 software that will allow mobile payments.

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Hewlett-Packard has finally figured out a viable option for WebOS, the mobile phone operating system software it bought in the ill-fated acquisition of Palm.

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It will start to advertise Ovi in 2009, but it will not be easy to create a brand that can rival the coolness of Apple's iPhone or Google's new mobile-phone software, called Android.

ECONOMIST: Nokia

From the beginning of Microsoft's mobile efforts in the PDA era, its touchscreen phone software has had a Start button and windows that could be minimized like the classic Windows desktop.

ENGADGET: Switched On: Battling for the bronze

Microsoft in February lined up Flextronics, one of the world's largest phone manufacturers, to build phones running Windows Mobile software.

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Snapdragon is an application processor, which is an integral part of a smartphone and is used for giving the computing power for handling mobile phone software and applications.

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Handhelds running its PocketPC software, such as HP's iPaq and the new T-Mobile smart phone, now claim 21% of the market.

FORBES: Magazine Article