Dial Cellfire for Coupons

As someone who clips coupons, and finds them online and prints them out—only to unknowingly leave them on the counter as I head for the car and the stores— I like this idea: A mobile phone coupon service.

Imagine walking up to a store register, pulling out your phone and accessing a coupon code for the item you want to buy? Cellfire, a Silicon Valley startup, unveiled the service at the CTIA Wireless I.T. & Entertainment 2006 show in LA.

Coupons don't just appear; consumers need to launch an application for new coupons to be added. Expired coupons are automatically deleted (nice touch), and new discounts are delivered directly to cell phones, according to this TechWeb article on the mobile coupon service.

Retailers on the coupon list include Bath & Body Works, T.G.I Friday's, and Hollywood Video. But Cellfire insists it will not share consumer information with retailers. "This program is completely opt-in for the consumer," Cellfire CEO Brent Dusing told TechWeb. "You pull up the coupons and offers when you need them. No one is spamming you."

Cellfire has launched the service with Cingular Wireless customers in California. If you fit the bill, go to Cellfire's web site or text to 22888 from your phone to sign up for the free service.

Would you be more likely to use coupons via your phone or the old-fashioned clipped variety?