So based on these numbers here and just how disastrous ads can be, maybe the best mobile platform focuses on e-commerce.

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Others think that auctions will force up mobile-telephony prices, because telecoms firms will pass on the costs, so slowing the development of mobile e-commerce.

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Felicis focuses on five areas: mobile, e-commerce, enterprise, education and healthcare (See infographic below).

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Finland's Nokia , Sweden's Ericsson and America's Motorola announced an alliance to develop a single standard for e-commerce on mobile phones.

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The reported concluded that such e-commerce spending on mobile devices will be the number one driver of mobile purchases.

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Now layer on e-commerce, with mobile technology enabling real-time price comparisons, and the exercise of pricing becomes even more complicated.

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This leaves a lot of room for anyone in e-commerce to grow on mobile platforms.

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Banga is banking on prepaid cards, e-commerce and mobile payments to diversify MasterCard's customer base.

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Howerton and Hoch have both invested in a few startups--among them CohesiveFT and Storeplacer, a company that creates e-commerce storefronts on Facebook and mobile devices.

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To sell subscriptions that bundle the Times in print, online and on mobile devices, the Times has had to develop an e-commerce platform that patches together various old and new databases and programs.

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