Cinema tickets via cellphone
Published on 22 Feb 2006 at 6:46 am.
11 Comments.
Filed under m-Commerce, Gadgets.
How do you sell cinema tickets via a cellphone?
Smart found a way. They call it Ticketxt – Mobile Ticketing System.
I wrote about Ticketxt last month, but saw the mechanics of the system and the barcode scanner only a few days ago.
Mechanics on purchasing mobile tickets:
1.) To download SM Movie mobile Tickets, subscriber must first register by sending TIX NOKIA [Name/Age] to 286 for subscribers using Nokia-branded handsets, or TIX OTHERS [name/age] to 286 for subscribers using all other handset brands.
For Example: TIX NOKIA MICA ABAD/25
TIX OTHERS MICA ABAD/25
2.) Once registered, subscriber may now download SM Moie Mobile Tickets by sending BUY [cinema] [seating] [quantity] to 286.
For Example: BUY MEGAMALL5 PREMIERE 3
This message will be sent to the subscriber:
Request received, amount due P360.00. Amount will be deducted from your SMART Money Account. Upon confirmation of payment, barcode ticket will be sent to you. To use ticket, hold phone’s screen against the BARCODE READER located at the SM Cinema lobby area. Send TIX HELP to 286 for more info. (P2.50/msg)
In simple terms, this is how it works:
a.) buy a ticket via SMS
b.) pay using Smart Money
c.) subscriber will be sent an image (a 2D barcode)
d.) subscriber presents the image to a machine at the cinema lobby
e.) the machine then issues the cinema ticket
Let’s talk more about 2D barcode. The 2D barcode is an image, like many black and white pixels in a square.
The barcode scanner is an image capture machine that reads the 2D barcode. The barcode can be small, big and even partially erased and the reader will still be able to read the barcode.
Although the technology isn’t simple (I can think of other ways to issue tickets via SMS + m-commerce), pushing the 2D barcode technology opens doors for other applications.
I’ve seen Japanese documentaries that made use of these barcodes in cellphones for issuing airline tickets, or issuing gate passes to unlock doors, or for buying products at convenience stores. These are things that can be done in the Philippines. Maybe this is another technology solution for “cellphone mo, MRT ticket na!”
Seeing it here in the Philippines makes me smile. What will they think of next? It better be good, or else it just becomes a showcase of technology that nobody made use of.
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ka edong
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JM on 23 Feb 2006 at 10:42 am: 1
Could’ve been better if hindi lang exclusive to smart money yung payment, diba? I mean… pwedeng yung regular load mo na lang kasi not everybody owns a smart money naman.
Hope other networks would do the same. SUN got stuck on their 24/7, haven’t seen much progress lately. Haha… Oh well. What could we expect from a “third party”. =P
ka edong on 24 Feb 2006 at 11:54 am: 2
Right on, JM! We’re thinking in the same lines!
Use cellphone load to buy the tickets, right?
noreen on 15 Jun 2007 at 5:57 pm: 3
hmm i think there’s an issue with Bangko Sentral for converting airtime load to cash? i’m not sure. a smart money account is a debit account and is equivalent to cash, so it can be used to _buy_ another item. an airtime load is not ‘monetary’ so it doesn’t have a purchasing power.
J.C. on 16 Jun 2007 at 10:39 am: 4
Sorry.. I am new to blogging I have a question regarding the Smart Padala service. Does anyone have a technical paper on the technology that supports the service? I do not understand where the money Id, simtoolkit come in.
ka edong on 16 Jun 2007 at 8:57 pm: 5
@ noreen - Perhaps. It has purchasing power if two parties agree to the transaction. It’s like barter.
@ j.c. - I’ve written a lot about Smart Money.
There’s a section in my action consultancy paper that explains Smart Money.
Marvin on 28 Jul 2007 at 4:21 pm: 6
its very convenient to have a mobile ticket. Its hassle free to every moviegoers. And to avoid fraud… Can i have more information about this cinema tickets via cell phoes.. it reall a big help if give a few information about your system thanks..
edXcribe on 29 Jul 2007 at 2:42 pm: 7
Here’s some information:
I was at Megamall the other day. And I saw the 2D bar readers of Omniprime (the group behind the TickeTXT).
Their machines were powered down and NOT being used.
Soon they will pull it out and charge the whole fiasco to experience …
http://edongskey.com/photos/?a=technobiography-photos&i=1134
sugar on 6 Nov 2007 at 2:23 pm: 8
IT REALLY DOESN’T WORK!!!!
dlethe01 on 21 Nov 2007 at 1:02 am: 9
November 15, 2007 - OMI Mobile Solutions conducted its internal live test at MRT North Ave. Station to Taft Ave. Station. Succesfully activated OMI E-Wallet and purchase single journey MRT mobile tickets for SMART Communications and SUN Cellular.
http://www.omniprime.net/
Technobiography » MRT mobile ticket live testing on 21 Nov 2007 at 10:44 am: 10
[…] Not much detail in the omniprime website. Omniprime was the group behind the mobile cinema tickets. […]
MRT mobile tickets soon to hit the rails, but when? -- Pinoy Tech Blog - The Philippines’ Premier Technology Blog on 21 Nov 2007 at 11:00 am: 11
[…] Some notes: * Not much detail about the live test in the omniprime website. Omniprime was the group behind the mobile cinema tickets. * Good to see the system integration between MRT, Smart and most especially SUN!. This is the kind of collaboration we’re looking for to make more robust and more inclusive mobile services (instead of the giant telcos developing services that don’t work with the rival telco — we want services that are interoperable) * It turns out Omniprime is the system integrator for the MRT mobile tickets which I discussed back in August 2007. […]