Abstract
Mobile and e-commerce applications are tools for accessing the Internet and for buying products and services. These applications are constantly evolving due to the high rate of technological advances being made. This paper provides a new perspective on the types of applications that can be used. It describes and analyses device requirements, provides a literature review of important aspects of mobile devices that can use such applications and the requirements of websites designed for mcommerce. The design and security aspects of mobile devices are also investigated. As an alternative to existing m-commerce applications, this paper also investigates the characteristics and potential of the PhoneGap cross-mobile platform application. The results suggest that effective mobile applications do exist for various Smartphones, and web applications on mobile devices should be effective. PhoneGap and Spree applications can communicate using JSON instead of the XML language. Android simulators can be used for ensuring proper functionality and for compiling the applications.