Free Republic

CHICAGO, Aug. 26 (UPI) -- Internet browsing and search features on mobile phones are influencing the decision-making process of consumers, motivating them to buy goods and services to which they might not otherwise have been exposed, experts told UPI's Wireless World. A new study on the trend, "The Role of Search in the Wireless Market," was released earlier this week by Yahoo! and the analysis firm Compete Inc. in Boston. The study tracked Internet search and transaction activity over a 12-month period and found that search plays a "distinctive role in the decision making process" of consumers looking to purchase...

CHICAGO -- Tired of the terrible customer service at your wireless carrier, but concerned if you switch everyone who knows your mobile number will be unable to reach you? Not to worry. Mobile phone numbers are now portable -- meaning you can take them with you from one carrier to another, as if they were personal property. The rule allowing consumers to do this was authorized by the Federal Communications Commission just over a year ago, though experts told UPI's Wireless World that customers largely are just beginning to learn of it. "In general, things are going pretty well," said...