This paper presents four case studies that explore the adoption and acceptance of mobile technologies and services within the context of the privacy-value-control (PVC) trichotomy. The technologies studied include: the mobile phone, electronic toll payment tags, e-passports, and loyalty card programs. The study shows that despite the potential barriers to adoption in each of the depicted cases, the applications were embraced with great success soon after their introduction. An understanding of why these mobile innovations succeeded in spite of the concerns surrounding them will serve to help practitioners understand other issues currently plaguing emerging technologies like radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags and transponders. The contribution of this paper is not only in its usage of secondary sources to support case development and subsequent cross-case analysis but on the importance of emphasizing the value proposition to the consumer to ensure the success of an innovation. The PVC trichotomy emphasizes the need to harmonize privacy, value and control.