Sprint launches universal mobile shopping application

Overland Park (KS) - Sprint today unveiled Mobile Shopper, a tool that allows customers to browse through dozens of online retailers in a cell phone-friendly interface.

Sprint claims it is the first US mobile carrier to launch such a platform. The application works like Google Products, wherein users search for an item and a list of results across multiple e-tailers is shown.

More than 30 online outlets are part of Sprint’s flagship service, offering a total of more than seven million products. Retailers include Eluxury, Ebags, Bluefly, and Shoes.com.

Sprint quoted Juniper Research analyst Alan Goode as saying that the mobile commerce business in North America will reach a modest $505 million next year, but then will jump dramatically to reach nearly $2 billion by 2010.

Sprint customers can enter billing information from their handsets when making a purchase, or by creating a profile online from a PC. Future purchases from the Mobile Shopper would require the user to enter a unique PIN to auto-fill the entire payment information.

The service is available on "most" PCS Vision-enabled phones, says Sprint. To access it, users need to go to the mobile Web application and type in "shop" in the search box.