Smart phones transform how we shop

CHARLOTTE, N.C. Bart Farrell bought an Apple iPhone a little more than a year ago, and it has since become his device of choice for tasks he could have only dreamed of performing on his old flip phone: Checking movie showtimes and paying for admission. Buying tickets to the coming Metallica concert. Looking up maps on the fly to find nearby stores and restaurants.

With its Internet access and range of clever applications, the phone is helping influence how and where Farrell, an oral surgeon in Charlotte, spends money -- making him part of a shift that's changing the way we shop.

The growing popularity of Web-enabled smart phones--that is, cell phones that harness the power of the Internet to do far more than send text messages and make calls -- means consumers increasingly have access to a world of information at their fingertips, at the moment they're making buying decisions.

Software developers are responding by introducing cell phone programs that help compare prices or list coupons, and retailers also are adapting.

But, just as happened after Internet shopping dawned more than a decade ago, experts say, there's much more to come, as people become comfortable with smart phones.

Farrell, 36, and a colleague were driving during lunch recently, he said, and realized they needed a computer monitor splitter. Using Google, they found the manufacturer's Web site, which listed local stores that carried the item. They made a U-turn toward a shopping plaza and had the part within four minutes.

"It just becomes second nature," Farrell said.

Of the roughly 270 million cell phones in use in the U.S., smart phones make up roughly one out of eight, or 13 percent, and annual smart phone sales are projected to double by 2013, said David Chamberlain, principal analyst for wireless at market research firm In-Stat.

Tarun Kushwaha, a marketing professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, said the devices are limited but handy for time-sensitive tasks such as ordering pizza or downloading a song.

Smart phones also can empower shoppers, offering the ability to compare prices and look up reviews.

"There's less of an opportunity for them to get talked into buying something that isn't right for them," said Bonnie Cha, a smart phone editor at technology Web site CNET.com. "They have the knowledge to say, 'I want this product, I'm looking to spend this price, it's right here on my phone.'"

-- McClatchy Newspapers