IQorder.com said it is planning a
first-quarter 2000 release for an application that allows comparison shopping
and purchases via minibrowser-enabled cellular phones, land-line telephones,
CE or palm devices, two-way pagers and standard browsers.
The company said the consumer will be able to enter anything that is known
about an item, such as model number, ISBN, part number, style or manufacturer
or barcode to locate the product. IQorder.com does the rest, scanning an
extended list of affiliates for price, availability and shipping times.
IQorder.com then submits the order to as many affiliates as necessary to
complete the order.
Wish lists, pricing alerts and price history capabilities are built in along
with “Friendly Reminders,” that keep track of events such as birthdays,
anniversaries, etc. — anything the user enters, including medication times,
appointments, etc.
The user controls how
much or little information they receive (including advertising), the company
said.
IQorder.com also works with traditional, “bricks and mortar” stores, allowing
traditional merchants to provide product pricing, availability and store
locations in an electronic databank.
Initially, IQorder.com said it will offer comparison power-shopping on CDs,
videos, books, computer hardware and software, consumer electronics, health
and nutrition and office products. More categories will be added later.
“Our interface is designed to make shopping easy, fast and efficient. We are
dedicated to getting to know what each individual shopper wants, likes and
needs,” said Michael Bates, chief executive officer and co-founder of
IQorder.com.
“As an electronic personal assistance service, we take advantage
of Internet shopping making it readily available, anytime, anywhere.”