• by April 17, 2006

It was only a matter of time before cell phones became vehicles for buying and paying for stuff. They're already the ultimate multifunction devices. We use them for talking, texting, blogging, for accessing news, watching video content, listening to music, voting for "American Idol" contestants, and who knows what else. But now, we'll be able to use cell phones to pay for entertainment content.

PayPal, a unit of Internet online auctions giant eBay, has introduced PayPal Mobile. The service allows consumers to make purchases and exchange money using wireless phones. The service conducts transactions via secure text messages.

Universal Music Group, one of the entertainment providers that's supporting the technology, plans to use PayPal Mobile to sell CDs by artists including the Pussycat Dolls, Mary J. Blige, and Daddy Yankee. MTV will use the service to sell T-shirts, DVDs, and other items from its Web store. Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, Bravo, and the NBA Store are weighing what items they'll make available for purchase via PayPal Mobile.

PayPal isn't the only provider working to merge the wireless/mobile world with commerce. Motorola, Obopay, TextPayMe, and Visa are all experimenting with wireless payment technologies. Visa is reportedly testing a contactless payment technology that uses radio waves to transmit transaction data. Participants in trials of the new technology can use their wireless phones to pay at restaurants, for downloading content, shopping at home via TV, and for purchasing tickets.

It all sounds freakishly futuristic, but it's not. The technology could become widely available in the next six months to a year. Now, what would really be cool is, if you could use a cell phone to pay for groceries instead of waiting in those endless queues at the store.

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