New Business Ideas: Cell Phone 2.0

Everybody has a cell phone nowadays. It has become an indispensable part of our lives.

The cell phone has evolved from its humble beginnings as a communication tool into a super gadget that offers us many useful services and resources, thanks to enterprising entrepreneurs with brilliant business ideas such as those below:

• Quebec-based Myca offers telemedicine 2.0, with its innovative service called MyFoodPhone. It allows users to send photos of their daily meals to Myca’s nutritional analysts who will then offer personalized dietary suggestions via biweekly videos. Easy health consultation for just $10 a month.

• New record label MMS & Buy is launching a service that enables music fans to get information about music, simply by taking a photo of the CD case and sending it via MMS (multimedia messaging) to their server. In an instant you’ll receive ringtones, video clips, concert tickets and further information about your favourite music artistes

• Need the restroom urgently? Fear not. MizPee sends a list of the closest and cleanest bathrooms straight to users’ mobile phones. Bathroom ratings are user generated and users can even search for amenities such as handicap accessibility and diaper-changing stations. MizPee is currently available in major U.S. cities such as San Francisco, New York, Seattle and Chicago.

• When you’re craving for Starbucks coffee, reach for your cellphone. Starbucks’ new cell phone-based service lets you efficiently locate the nearest store by texting the ZIP code of your location to the number “MYSBUX” (697289). A text message will return with the addresses of the three nearest Starbucks locations.

• Wine connoisseurs, there’s something for you too. Send an SMS to WineZap the wine name and vintage, and WineZap will text back the current low, high and average prices for the wine you’re eyeing. Include your zipcode and you’ll also receive a list of the nearest retailers that stock the wine, as well as their prices.

Can you think of a never-seen-before mobile service for the millions of mobile phone users out there?

[Source: Steven Teo - smallbiztrends.com - Sept 2007]