Smart-powered apps inspire virtual 'ambagan'

MANILA, Philippines – Are you passionate about shoes? Your birthday is coming up, and you’re pining for that lovely new pair you saw recently, but just don’t have the money to buy it?

Fortunately, there is now a mobile phone app that lets you post a picture of the pair of shoes that you like and ask your friends to chip in small amounts so that you can buy them.

Shoephoric.com’s Make Me Shoephoric Android app turns the common practice of chipping in or “ambagan” into a very convenient mobile phone service, similar to the way online networking sites make social interactions just a click or a tap away.

Other “virtual ambagan” applications created by local developers allow mobile phone users to pool their resources to help a friend running short of load to top up again on phone credits (Chikka Top-App) or to donate to charity groups.

These homegrown apps supported by Smart Communications Inc. can serve as innovative business models for developers and entrepreneurs.

Through its Smart Developer Network, Smart has been helping local app developers turn their ideas into finished products ready to be promoted in the international mobile market.

“Contribution-type applications can increase the revenue stream of entrepreneurs and developers by tapping the popularity of social networking activities nowadays. We see Facebook users helping their friends win online promos by ‘liking’ photos. Chipping in for purchases is an extension of this willingness to help,” said Smart strategic business development head Alex Ibasco.

These new offers actually take off from services that are already popular among Smart subscribers in the Philippines. Examples are “Pasa Load” which enables Smart subscribers to transfer load to another Smart subscriber, and Smart Money, which allows Smart subscribers to transfer cash values to each other using their phones.

The difference is the Shoephoric app, Chikka TopApp, and their kindred services can transfer load and other values across countries and networks — something that was simply not possible to do in the past.

So a Filipino in the United States who is an AT&T mobile subscriber or in the United Kingdom and who is a Vodafone subscriber can send airtime load or cash to his or her friend or relative back in the Philippines and the transaction would be charged against their prepaid dollar mobile credits or included in the postpaid bills — a process called in-app billing.

The secret is WAC

This seemingly simple but technically complex process is made possible by Smart’s membership in the Wholesale Applications Community (WAC), a global alliance of handset manufacturers, software development companies, and mobile network operators.

The WAC’s Network Application Programming Interface (NAPI) allows app developers like Chikka to charge member-telco subscribers without having to connect separately to each mobile operator’s billing system.

“Through the Smart and WAC connection, local developers and businesses can reach out to a broader market. Their product and service recipients will not be limited to local mobile phone users,” Ibasco said.

“Smart’s in-app billing makes it convenient for subscribers to purchase products and services online. Some consumers see products they like online but don’t even consider buying these because they do not have a credit card. With in-app billing, subscribers need only to click or tap on their Smart-powered phones to make purchases,” Ibasco said.

Developers and businesses can therefore expand their market to include the considerable percentage of mobile phone users who do not have credit cards or online payment accounts.

This technology can also be used to help non-profit organizations raise funds for meaningful causes. Through the iCare app, mobile phone users can make instant donations to organizations like the Philippine Red Cross.

Make Me Shoephoric, TopApp, and iCare were launched at the GSMA Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain recently. All three applications can be downloaded for free from the Android Market, and will soon be available at the Smart App Store.