Real mobility for retail

Retailers, this one's for you. Motorola's announced a new snap-on device for mobile payments, which you can attach to your phone and use to take payments for goods and services if you don't want to buy a dedicated payments device.

The implications for retailers and Motorola are pretty cool. The former can now offer true mobility: then next time you do a big shop at your farmer's market you could pay by card, with a simple swipe through your stallkeeper's phone. It also means using one device for more than one function - something that small business owners love.

In the (frustratingly, still nascent) m-payments market, any progress that creates a real, working device (one that's commercially-available, no less) is a step forward. It also might help Motorola scrape back some marketshare by positioning itself as solving tricky m-pay issues. Hopefully they'll be showcasing it at the upcoming MWC.