VOTXT: The next wave in wireless applications - teXt FILES by Kevin G. Belmonte (PHILSTAR.COM INC.)

There’s no stopping Bidshot.com, one of philstar.com’s valued partners, from coming up with new and exciting things. Now comes VOTXT, a global first in wireless polling. No wonder Chief Bidshot Patrick Garcia, in this guest column of his, raves about it. And yes, of all things Bidshot. So here he goes:

The future of wireless devices has become even more evident as cellular phones have outnumbered their wired counterparts. Building up on this development, the visionaries at Bidshot.com have leveraged off their expertise in the development of applications based on SMS or "text messaging" by creating the world’s first Wireless Polling System called VOTXT. This revolutionary, patented application that interoperates with all GSM phones, allows a user to send in his vote in one easy step.

VOTXT is a real-time, SMS-based polling/survey application. Any person with a working GSM mobile phone (five million users in the Philippines) supported by any of the telecom partners of Bidshot.com may use the service. The current partners include Globe Telecom, Smart Communications, Talk N Text and Islacom.

To vote, a user simply sends a text message containing a specified keyword (a vote) to a specified access code. The voter will, within seconds, receive the real-time tally of all votes, including the unique total number of voters. There is no registration process required. The application may be set to just accept unique voters or it may be set to accept multiple votes. The current status of any ongoing poll is available anytime as the polling base increases as the days go by. Simply send a text message containing a specified keyword, "RESULT" to an access code and text message will be returned to you in seconds, showing real-time tally, including unique and total votes. Results from the SMS poll are shown like regular survey outcomes, and can be broadcast on a website – even on TV – in real time!

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The full benefits of the Internet will be greatly felt and appreciated when its content is mobile-enabled, giving its users access to information anytime and anywhere, liberating them from the bondage of a room. As such, we, at Bidshot Auctions, have created our online auction site with its users’ lifestyle in mind, enabling them to continue participating in their auction via their cellular mobile phones and without the inconvenience of a wire.

The Philippine’s premier auction site offers its users an opportunity to participate in the booming global Internet business at no cost. A one-time registration is all anyone has to make and he is off to selling his items for cash. Sell from new, second-hand to refurbished items, to even collectibles and antiques. Liquidate for cash that old model camera gathering dust in your drawer. Do you own a physical store? Take it online for free! The online auction model removes physical or geographical barriers, which traditional stores have. It can provide a transparent marketplace where buyers and sellers meet, communicate and exchange goods. And through bidding, where goods will be sold based on what bidders are willing to pay for them rather than a fixed price, the true monetary worth of an item is realized. Your garbage may be someone else’s treasure.

Also, for discerning buyers looking for a bargain or collectibles, Bidshot.com’s growing item base is one to drool over. Check the array of item categories – the latest Nokia phones, Palms, CDs, DVDs, computer accessories, electronic appliances, phone cards, toys, branded clothing and paintings, among others. Both bidders and sellers benefit from Bidshot’s ever-growing community as activity on the site is always bustling. Seldom are items without bidders, and there’s always a broad collection of items to choose from.

Worried that you will be away from your computer and will not be able to monitor that Nokia 8250 auction you have been hotly bidding on? Stuck in traffic? Unlike every other auction site, Bidshot is the only auction site globally that enables you to receive outbid notifications via SMS or "text message," and by just simply replying with a peso value, raise your bid! Its arsenal of SMS functionalities: password retrieval, ability to check the details of a particular item, ability to search for an item and the latest addition, a wireless message board. Do you have a question about an item? Use Bidshot’s patented wireless message board to be able to communicate with the seller. Not only is your question sent via e-mail to the user, it is also sent via "text." Get a quick response from the seller and receive his answer also via "text"!

Bidshot.com is continuously working very hard toward giving its community the most reliable, secure and fun auctioning experience ever. Online auctions aren’t just about acquisition, profitability and competition. They’re also about community and the possibility of making new friends. But you have to try the Bidshot.com way to be able to really understand it. Online auctions just got better!