• by Chuck Martin , Staff Writer, March 23, 2015

The concept of mobile commerce, or at least mobile payments, has been relatively straightforward, with various twists.

At the core, a person uses their mobile phone to pay for something, like in a store, by tapping their phone to a check-out terminal or flashing a code on the screen.

But increasingly, more things are being used to buy things.

One of the most notable (or at least talked about) is the Apple Watch, which is designed to be used to make a payment, a la Apple Pay. The watch will be tapped to a terminal rather than the phone.

In the growing world of IoE (Internet of Everything), more things are being created that can be used for more things, such as commerce.

Major watchmakers also are getting in on the action.

For example, TAG Heuer announced a smartwatch, but rather than being made in Switzerland, the company teamed up with Google and Intel for some of the inner workings.

Phone makers like Samsung already are in what will be the wrist-device payment game.

There are other devices being introduced for non-phone payments.

The Wocket smart wallet, which just started initial shipping, is essentially a case that comes with a card inside.

The card looks and acts like a credit card and once the consumer’s identification is verified via biometrics and PIN number, a tap on the screen is used to select which credit card it becomes.

After use, the card is put back into the wallet and becomes neutral again.

And then there’s the iWallet, which holds traditional credit cards inside the case, which can on be opened only by the owner’s fingerprint.

And then there’s the LoopPay FOB, which can be used for a payment at pretty much any terminal that can take a credit card swipe. Technology in the device emulates a credit card swipe.

Since Samsung recently purchased LoopPay, that technology also will be included in the Samsung Galaxy S 6. But the FOB still can be used separately.

LoopPay also created a phone case, shown at CES, which holds traditional credit cards but also has a removable piece that can be used for a payment, much like the FOB.

There’s no doubt about the coming widespread availability of phone-based mobile payments.

Alongside that, we now have Gadget Commerce.