A researcher at Japan’s University of Hyogo believes that commuters will determine the success of Google’s new mobile wallet. “Commuters place a great deal of value on products that enable them to reduce their commuting time,” Sheikh Taher Abu writes in Telematics and Informatics. “Wallet phones enable them to do so by completely bypassing the ticket machine and by accelerating the purchase of foods, drinks, snacks, and newspapers in kiosks or convenience stores.” Beyond convenience, Google is working to assure potential users that its phones are secure. “We have learned some things,” former CEO Eric Schmidt said at an industry meeting last month. “The first thing is to let engineers build the product but don’t let them launch it until you have had a very long conversation with them.” He also underscored the care Google took to implement a series of permissions “so nothing is done without the user’s say-so.” Link to full story in New Scientist.
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