I'm not a prophet. There's no way for me to forsee all of the new products that would emerge because of this payment system. Here are a few ideas:
- Paid Internet researchers
- Hi-res sattelite photos for consumers
- Real-time audio and video from individuals carrying handheld computers
Electronic pre-paid electricity meters. See your money tick away because all of the lights are on. This could really reduce consumption! I suggest that the meter be accessible via Wifi or the upcoming [http://www.homeplug.org/ Homeplug AV].
Any service that currently uses invoices could switch to pay-as-you-go. Few companies will be motivated to make such a switch. Rather, I expect that new companies will embrace modernization and capture large customer bases. Examples of such services: mobile phones, cable television, magazines, etc.
One industry that should be eager to drop subscriptions is online newspapers. I personally have, countless times, clicked on a link to a New York Times story and given up after seeing the login screen. Many of those times, I was willing to pay $0.10 to read the story. But there is no such payment option yet.