Over the summer, Hypertag Ltd. first put its products on Nintendo posters in movie theaters, offering discounts on the latest Pokemon videogame. Customers point their phones at the posters, download discount codes and use them at electronics stores. Hypertag also plans to stick tags with downloadable ringtones into record stores, and tags with tourism information at bus stops and elsewhere.
Other companies are thinking about point-and-click technology. Visa (in Japan) and MasterCard (in Texas) are experimenting with “point-and-pay” phone technology that allows customers to beam their cells at cash registers and immediately charge various products to their credit cards. If only paying off the cards were that simple.
