I use blockchain.info

The way it works is simple. You go to a merchant that accepts bitcoin. You negotiate a price. The merchant presents you with a bitcoin address to send a payment to. The easiest way to do this is to show you a QR code that you can then scan using your phone. You send the required bitcoins and leave the store with your goodies.


What happens if you lose your wallet or purse? Advice: only keep as much cash on you as you intend to spend. Don't keep your life savings in your wallet or purse, and definitely don't keep your entire bitcoin stash accessible from your phone. Suppose that you do lose your phone though. You would still be able to access your blockchain.info wallet from the website directly and retrieve any balance you had saved. Anyone that finds your phone isn't going to get the coins right away unless they know what they are doing. Access to the app is going to require a 4 digit pin, and after a number of incorrect attempts (5, I think), then you need to enter the full password.

The recommendation here is to have a phone-only wallet that has a small balance.