Scavenger
01-07-2009, 05:40 PM
http://wapreview.com/images/ticketmaster1.jpgI've been pretty disappointed with attempts to offer online event ticketing via the mobile web. The sites I've looked at have been marred by pretty serious usability issues.* A lot of the problems are related to payment. There really aren't any convenient ways to pay for purchases on the mobile web that are also widely adopted.* The mobile versions of PayPal and Google Checkout are easy to use but don't seem to have caught on with consumers or merchants.* On the full web most purchasing is done with credit or debit cards. For mobile, purchasing with plastic is too complicated to be very practical.* You need to enter the 16 digit card number, full billing address, the card's expiration date and 3 0r 4 digit security code. Way too much typing.* Barely acceptable with QWERTY,* it's an intolerable pain with a standard 12 key mobile keypad.* Mobile commerce desperately needs some sort of seamless* payment system built into the phone or network.
I just ran across the US mobile website of Ticketmaster, the 800 pound gorilla of the online event ticketing business,* at ticketmaster.mobi (http://www.ticketmaster.mobi/) and was pleasantly surprised.* I'm no fan of Ticketmaster's exorbitant service charges which can add 35% to the cost of already expensive concert tickets.* On the other hand, I have to give Ticketmaster credit for solving most of the usability problems* of mobile online ticketing.
http://wapreview.com/images/ticketmaster2.jpgTicketmaster's mobile site is uninspiring visually but a model of simple effective design.* Enter an artist or sports team or choose from a list of categories and you are prompted for a zipcode or city and state.* You are then shown a paginated listing of matching events in chronological order starting with today.* Clicking an event brings up a page with event and venue details and a click to call number to order tickets.* The whole process can be accomplished quickly with a minimum number of clicks.* Making a phone call may be low tech, but it's still the easiest way to complete a complex credit card transaction with a mobile phone.
The site's not prefect, however.* Prices are not always listed and do not include those nasty fees. Ticketmaster conveniently remembers the last location you used if you entered a city and state but curiously not if you used a zipcode.
Filed in: Wap Review Directory - Search/Local (http://wapreview.com/index.php?id=22)
Ratings: Content: http://wapreview.com/images/sm-blue-star.gifhttp://wapreview.com/images/sm-blue-star.gifhttp://wapreview.com/images/sm-blue-star.gifhttp://wapreview.com/images/sm-blue-star.gifhttp://wapreview.com/images/blue-starOL.gif Usability: http://wapreview.com/images/sm-red-star.gifhttp://wapreview.com/images/sm-red-star.gifhttp://wapreview.com/images/sm-red-star.gifhttp://wapreview.com/images/sm-red-star.gifhttp://wapreview.com/images/red-starOL.gif
Mobile Link: ticketmaster.mobi (http://www.ticketmaster.mobi/)
Ready.mobi Score: 4 "Good" (http://ready.mobi/results.jsp?uri=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ticketmaster.mobi %2F&locale=en_EN)
Related:
Usability Flaws Mar Mobile Tickets.Com (http://wapreview.com/blog/?p=1829)
Buy Movie Tickets on Mobile MSN (http://wapreview.com/blog/?p=452)
Fandango Mobile (http://wapreview.com/blog/?p=187)
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(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/us/)
http://feedads.googleadservices.com/~a/UvwUAx8Fa3oYYsUnfP9YgQP-680/i</img> (http://feedads.googleadservices.com/~a/UvwUAx8Fa3oYYsUnfP9YgQP-680/a)
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More... (http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/WapReview/~3/0znxh57ex0o/)
I just ran across the US mobile website of Ticketmaster, the 800 pound gorilla of the online event ticketing business,* at ticketmaster.mobi (http://www.ticketmaster.mobi/) and was pleasantly surprised.* I'm no fan of Ticketmaster's exorbitant service charges which can add 35% to the cost of already expensive concert tickets.* On the other hand, I have to give Ticketmaster credit for solving most of the usability problems* of mobile online ticketing.
http://wapreview.com/images/ticketmaster2.jpgTicketmaster's mobile site is uninspiring visually but a model of simple effective design.* Enter an artist or sports team or choose from a list of categories and you are prompted for a zipcode or city and state.* You are then shown a paginated listing of matching events in chronological order starting with today.* Clicking an event brings up a page with event and venue details and a click to call number to order tickets.* The whole process can be accomplished quickly with a minimum number of clicks.* Making a phone call may be low tech, but it's still the easiest way to complete a complex credit card transaction with a mobile phone.
The site's not prefect, however.* Prices are not always listed and do not include those nasty fees. Ticketmaster conveniently remembers the last location you used if you entered a city and state but curiously not if you used a zipcode.
Filed in: Wap Review Directory - Search/Local (http://wapreview.com/index.php?id=22)
Ratings: Content: http://wapreview.com/images/sm-blue-star.gifhttp://wapreview.com/images/sm-blue-star.gifhttp://wapreview.com/images/sm-blue-star.gifhttp://wapreview.com/images/sm-blue-star.gifhttp://wapreview.com/images/blue-starOL.gif Usability: http://wapreview.com/images/sm-red-star.gifhttp://wapreview.com/images/sm-red-star.gifhttp://wapreview.com/images/sm-red-star.gifhttp://wapreview.com/images/sm-red-star.gifhttp://wapreview.com/images/red-starOL.gif
Mobile Link: ticketmaster.mobi (http://www.ticketmaster.mobi/)
Ready.mobi Score: 4 "Good" (http://ready.mobi/results.jsp?uri=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ticketmaster.mobi %2F&locale=en_EN)
Related:
Usability Flaws Mar Mobile Tickets.Com (http://wapreview.com/blog/?p=1829)
Buy Movie Tickets on Mobile MSN (http://wapreview.com/blog/?p=452)
Fandango Mobile (http://wapreview.com/blog/?p=187)
http://i.creativecommons.org/l/by/3.0/us/80x15.png
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/us/)
http://feedads.googleadservices.com/~a/UvwUAx8Fa3oYYsUnfP9YgQP-680/i</img> (http://feedads.googleadservices.com/~a/UvwUAx8Fa3oYYsUnfP9YgQP-680/a)
http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/WapReview?i=pTgokVlV</img> (http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/WapReview?a=pTgokVlV) http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/WapReview?i=xFFlbTTy</img> (http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/WapReview?a=xFFlbTTy) http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/WapReview?d=131</img> (http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/WapReview?a=sHzCz5oY) http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/WapReview?i=ZWKTjsR1</img> (http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/WapReview?a=ZWKTjsR1)
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