There's no such barriers in Japan, where it is common for one to pay for items using your cellphone. They can also order things on their phone by taking pictures of a standardized 2D barcode on a flyer or poster.
The hardware has caught up, it's the telecoms that have not.
> The hardware has caught up, it's the telecoms that have not.
That statement is absolutely true. We have the technology. What we do not have is the belief/permission of those holding various monopolies (or effective ones) that opening up their networks / copyrights / business models will really provide them with a greater economic gain.
Telecoms certainly have to take the first step (and they'll drag their feet the entire way), but the second step is getting people to change their lives around the technology. IMO, most of the US would still lag behind (in terms of mobile technology) even if the wireless infrastructure was upgraded because they don't really care to use it (i.e. they're happy with the way they do things now).
As for this API, I think it's fantastic, but they should really take it a step further. If there's some sort of national or international consortium of retailers, they should create a free, unified API such that a good produced anywhere in the world will have an entry in the system. It'd even be cool if they added a rebate submission system into it as well, instead of having to mail in rebates for things.
the hardware is still slow--the 3gs is nicer in terms of speed, but today's cell phones still feel a bit like operating a computer back in the early 90s. there are still plenty of crashes and delays.
absolutely right though, telecoms are going to push status quo for as long as they can because that's what is profitable for them right now. but the time will eventually come, and they will change (although i admit maybe not as quickly as i hope it will; i was the kid in school dreaming of FTTH in 2000).
The hardware has caught up, it's the telecoms that have not.