The SD Association has a new way to consumers to rid themselves of plastic smart cards: use a smart SD card instead. The new memory card spec supports the NFC Secure Element and on-board applets for smartphones. Read more »
Google has reportedly abandoned plans to launch a physical Google Wallet card. The company’s mobile payment system has been slow to take off. Read more »
From shopping and buying to owning and using products, consumers’ experiences largely determine the success of both retailers and brands. By voting with their feet, wallets, and social media, consumers reward companies that make their lives easy, risk-free, and pleasurable. As proof, you can witness the […] Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Car keys may soon be a thing of the past. Hyundai is testing out a concept in which it allows users to access their car using NFC-enabled smartphones. The tap-and-go interaction can also trigger individual user preferences and initiate streaming between the phone and car. Read more »
The week started with a nifty wireless NFC experiment but not ever Android phone has NFC. Free software accomplishes the same task of toggling Wi-Fi based on location. The Nexus 7 dock makes an appearance as does Xbox SmartGlass for Google’s 7-inch Nexus tablet. Read more »
Don’t think that wireless NFC tags are just for mobile payments. You can do practically anything with them if you know how to program them with small bits of data. Some free apps make this easy and I’m already on the NFC bandwagon at home. Read more »
Tired of carrying hundreds of business cards? What if you only needed to carry one? That’s the idea behind this Moo card with embedded NFC tag inside it. You just tap it to a phone with NFC-capabilities and it share just about any information you want. Read more »
Android Police has gotten a hold of a leaked version of a new Google Wallet which suggests the company is preparing to release physical Google Wallet cards to work alongside its NFC-based mobile payment system. Read more »
Google is working on an update to Google Wallet and it may include support for the iPhone. New users who request an invite to the next version of Google Wallet are asked what phone they use: Android, iPhone or other. Read more »
After missing its planned summer launch, mobile payment joint venture Isis is now finally live in its first two test cities of Austin and Salt Lake City. Users can try out Isis on nine handsets from Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile. Read more »
Apple stole the spotlight in the third quarter with the release of its iPhone 5, Amazon pursued the tablet market aggressively with a new line of tablets, and Microsoft prepped to launch Windows 8 and the highly anticipated Surface tablet. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Here’s our daily pick of stories about Apple from around the web that you shouldn’t miss. Today’s installment: Retail employees asked to help correct Apple’s mapping data, will a future iPhone have NFC?, Oracle embraces the iPad, why Apple is building a smaller tablet, and more. Read more »
Netflix and Good Technology both completed the first pilots of NFC-equipped smartphones for building access in Silicon Valley. The tests with HID Global demonstrate some of the utility of NFC beyond payments but also highlight the remaining work to be done. Read more »
Isis, the joint mobile payment venture from Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile, was supposed to launch in two markets this summer. But the company is delaying the roll out of the NFC-based payment system without a firm launch date to announce. Read more »
Barclaycard US is the latest card issuer to back Google Wallet. The company also backs Isis, the mobile payment joint venture between Verizon Wireless, AT&T and T-Mobile, illustrating that not even the traditional banking companies know yet which mobile payment standard will be successful. Read more »
As expected, Apple passed on NFC for the iPhone 5. Apple could have provided a big boost to the technology and helped educate users on the merits of the technology. Now, it will continue to struggle to gain mainstream acceptance. Read more »
LevelUp is showing NFC some love by replacing its existing payment docks with NFC-enabled hardware. Now instead of just paying by QR code, LevelUp users can initiate payments with a tap of their phone. Read more »
NFC in the iPhone may have to wait another year. Anandtech is concluding that the next iPhone, if it comes with a metal backing, will not be able to support an NFC antenna. Read more »
NFC, or near-field communications, is often synonymous with wireless mobile payments, but the technology has other uses too. You can pair Bluetooth devices by tapping them, for example. Or you can go cable-free with this NFC keyboard found in Japan… if you can afford it. Read more »
Despite its current decline, RIM is a different firm today than it was in 2007, with new management, a full awareness of its shaky position, an upcoming OS release and a number of lingering advantages that can still be leveraged. Here’s how it just might survive. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
With the growth of sensors and microelectronics, the potential uses of wearable-computing technologies now reach to health and fitness, gaming, fashion, disabilities and augmented reality. Most importantly, the widespread adoption of wearables will drive the form function and market for mobiles in vital ways. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Apple’s intent to acquire AuthenTec is another possible clue, in addition to its Passbook software coming this fall, and its experience running one of the most successful e-commerce sites on the planet, as to what Apple might be working on in the area of mobile payments. Read more »
UPDATED: NFC reader and software maker ViVOtech is selling off its reader business as it restructures and focuses on software. The company, which has raised $96 million to date, may have burned through too much cash waiting for NFC payments to materialize. Read more »
Isis, the carrier-led mobile payment venture by Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile, is preparing for its big summer debut with the release of a series of video tutorials aimed at educating users on how to use its tap-and-go system. Read more »
MasterCard and Deutsche Telekom announced a partnership today that will bring NFC contactless payments to DT’s 93 million mobile customers in Europe. That puts more momentum behind NFC payments and potentially sets up 2013 as a big break-out year for contactless payments. Read more »
Near field communication, the wireless technology that’s forever been poised to break out, may finally get the big push it needs. Code pulled from two iPhone prototypes suggest that upcoming iPhones will have NFC controllers connected to the power management unit, according to a new report. Read more »
Samsung is trying to champion near field communication and is introducing new programmable NFC tags called TecTiles that work with a new mobile application on NFC-enabled Android devices. Users can program that tags to do 25 different tasks. Read more »
My do-it-yourself smarthome system may be getting an upgrade with an Internet connected front door lock. Lockitron just caught my eye for a few reasons, but the two main ones are support for near-field communications or NFC and no wiring needed for installation. Read more »
What features might your next smartphone have? When you consider new mobile chips, graphics processors, 4G networks, sensors and more, the sky’s the limit. Here’s an overview what you can expect to see in the smartphones of tomorrow, which will top 1 billion sales by 2015. Read more »
V.me, Visa’s digital wallet competitor to PayPal, is scheduled to debut this fall in the UK, France and Spain. It will be an online payment service at first but the bigger plan is to make it an in-store tool for transactions using NFC. Read more »
Smartphone sales surged both in the U.S. and worldwide, carriers struggled to cope with the ever-increasing consumption of mobile data, and the fight for spectrum remained front and center in the first quarter. Our latest quarterly wrap-up analyzes these trends and more. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Samsung will take the wraps off its latest Galaxy handset at an event in London on May 3. You’re all thinking this will be the Galaxy S III, and you’re probably right, but there may be more to this event than a mere smartphone unveiling. Read more »
The company, one of the first of its kind to use NFC for coupon redemption, already has operations in Europe and South-East Asia but has just attracted a seven-figure sum to expand further Read more »
In attempting to showcase its rich history of NFC, Nokia has actually managed to outline everything that’s gone wrong with the company over the past few years. Will it ever really understand what’s happened to it? Read more »
Isis, the joint mobile payment venture between Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile, has been taking a slow approach as it heads towards a limited launch in two cities this summer. But the methodical pace appears to be setting Isis up to be a long-term player. Read more »
Hyperlocal mobile advertising is at a critical juncture: Leading analysts predict that mobile ad spending will increase by more than five times between 2011 and 2015. But what are the forces at play, and how effective are HyLoMo ads? Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Ever since the smartphone era began, companies have looked for ways to quickly get information from the offline product world onto the phone. Barcode scanning and QR codes work, but what if we could just use a printed solution readable by our phone’s touchscreen? Read more »
Phones embedded with near-field communications chips are beginning to proliferate, but their uptake is much slower in North America than in Europe and Asia, according to Berg Insight. Of the 30 million NFC handsets sold, roughly 5 million wound up in the hands of North American consumers. Read more »
After attracting attention last summer for social commerce initiatives with Foursquare and Facebook, last week American Express announced a new coupons hook-up with Twitter. Amex has the potential to be a powerhouse in social commerce, but so far that potential remains ... Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Isis, the mobile payment joint venture of Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile, is showing off its service for the first time to consumers at SXSW. The NFC mobile wallet has been lining up the necessary components for a limited launch this summer. Read more »
