The Third Wave Begins 
Since about 2001, industry analysts have been predicting the emergence of mobile telephone-based commerce (often called mobile commerce or m-commerce) every year And year after year, they were surprised that the expected development of mobile commerce did not occur. The limited capabilities of mobile telephones were a major impediment until very recently. 
 Mobile commerce is finally taking off with the increasingly widespread use of mobile phones that allow Internet access and smart phones. Smart phones are mobile phones that include a Web browser, a full keyboard, and an identifiable operating system that allows users to run various software packages. These phones are available with usage plans that include very high or even unlimited data transfers at a fixed monthly rate. 
 Another technological development was the introduction of tablet computers. These handheld devices are larger than a smart phone but smaller than a laptop computer. Most tablet computers (and smart phones) can connect to the Internet through a wireless phone service carrier or a local wireless network. This flexibility is important, especially if the wireless data plan restricts the amount of data that can be downloaded. The availability of these devices and the low cost of Internet connectivity have made mobile commerce possible on a large scale for the first time. Leading online business research firms, including Forrester, Coda, and ABI Research, estimate mobile commerce to be about 81 billion today but expect rapid growth to levels between 810 billion and 830 billion by 2015