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January 27th, 2012

Nintendo to include NFC in its next games console

The Wii U, expected to ship during the second half of 2012, is to come with NFC functionality built into its next-generation controller, allowing players to interact with NFC-enabled figures and cards as well as to pay for games and other items. More


January 25th, 2012

Swedish retailer launches NFC loyalty programme

Leading Swedish retail chain ICA says it picked NFC for the rewards programme at its ICA To Go food store in Stockholm because it will appeal to the tech savvy, health-conscious city dwellers it wants to attract. More


January 25th, 2012

DeviceFidelity begins shipping NFC microSDs direct to consumers

US iPhone users can now order a case containing an NFC microSD card online and use it to make payments with their mobile phone. An Android version will be added during the second quarter of 2012 and there are plans to make the technology available internationally from the end of the year. More


January 23rd, 2012

SITA demonstrates NFC for airport check-ins

"A passenger using an NFC-enabled device can be processed faster than any of the current boarding processes available today", says the air transportation technology giant. More


January 23rd, 2012

Turkcell launches NFC payments on BlackBerry phones

The Turkish mobile network operator has become the first in the world to offer its subscribers the ability to make payments with their NFC-enabled BlackBerry mobile phones. More


January 20th, 2012

Parrot pairs stylish headphones and speakers with NFC

The wireless product specialist has revealed high-end headphones and a speaker dock, both designed by Philippe Starck, which incorporate NFC-initiated Bluetooth pairing for smartphones. More


January 17th, 2012

EU calls for comment on future of payments

The European Commission has published a green paper assessing the current card, internet and mobile payments landscape and is asking stakeholders to contribute their thoughts on how to ensure a modern, integrated payments environment can be implemented across Europe. More


January 17th, 2012

RapidNFC compares performance of NFC tags

"The difference in NFC tag performance was both significant and surprising," says the NFC tag provider, and there was one clear winner in terms of overall performance. More


January 17th, 2012

Swedish carriers pick mobile wallet suppliers

4T Sverige, the joint venture company set up by Sweden's four mobile network operators, is to launch a mobile payments service that works with 97% of current phones and also provides support for NFC. More


January 17th, 2012

Sprint announces more Google Wallet phones

The US carrier has revealed it will be adding two further NFC phones to its line up, the Galaxy Nexus and the LG Viper, and more are on their way. More


January 16th, 2012

KDDI launches NFC in Japan

The mobile network operator will begin commercial NFC services from the end of January with partners including Japan Airlines, credit card issuers, loyalty programme providers and retailers. More


January 16th, 2012

Intesa Sanpaolo begins NFC trial in Italy

The Italian financial institution's new "Move and Pay" NFC payments service is being provided in conjunction with mobile service provider Noverca, in which Intesa is a shareholder. More


January 13th, 2012

Irancell demonstrates NFC payments and ticketing

Technology provider Etick, mobile network operator MTN-Irancell and Bank Pasargad have teamed up to demonstrate NFC payments in Iran. More


January 12th, 2012

Spanish banks prepare Barcelona and Madrid for mobile payments

La Caixa is to equip all its 17,000 retail points-of-sale in Barcelona with contactless POS terminals while BBVA and Bankia are converting 7,000 points-of-sale in central Madrid, with the aim of paving the way for NFC mobile payments. More


January 11th, 2012

Sony unveils Xperia NFC phones and tags

Sony has announced two Xperia NFC smartphones, the Xperia Ion which is exclusive to AT&T in the US and the Xperia S which will be available worldwide this quarter, as well as read-only NFC Xperia SmartTags. More


January 10th, 2012

Broadcom unveils NFC technology for sub-$100 smartphones

The BCM21552G is a single chip that incorporates a modem and application processor as well as support for NFC and is designed for smartphones retailing at under US$100. More


January 10th, 2012

Visa certifies Samsung, LG and BlackBerry NFC phones for mobile payments

The Samsung Galaxy S II, LG Optimus Net NFC, BlackBerry Bold 9900/9790 and BlackBerry Curve 9360/9380 have now been added to the list of approved Visa payments products, enabling financial institutions to use them in commercial NFC deployments for the first time. More


January 10th, 2012

NFC keyboard offers touch and type convenience

An NFC-based portable keyboard for smartphones has eliminated the usual pairing step associated with accessories — users simply place their NFC phone on the keyboard and start typing. More


January 3rd, 2012

20m Koreans to have NFC phones this year

Five million Koreans already have an NFC phone, says mobile network operator KT, and payments for bus, subway and taxi fares are the most popular NFC applications. More


January 3rd, 2012

US consumers “warming up to mobile payments”

23% of US consumers are now "very willing" to use their mobile phone as a wallet, a KPMG survey has found, but many consumers are still expressing privacy and security concerns. More

News in brief

ZapTap puts NFC on the shelf

Canadian start up ZapTap is using NFC tags instore to give product information to shoppers. By tapping tags on a shelf using a smartphone, consumers will be able to see further information, reviews and offers for the products on display. The service can also offer live customer service and feedback and a merchant 'dashboard' gives retailers real-time data on usage of the service.

Premo offers 3D NFC antenna

Inductive component specialist Premo has developed a 3D-coil isotropic magnetic antenna for NFC applications. The 3DC15-HF is designed to be surface mounted during PCB assembly and incorporates a trio of single coils arranged in three dimensions. The company sees the part being used in the automotive industry, including in keyless entry systems, as well as in other NFC applications.

NFC Playbook on the way?

RIM is rumoured to be lining up an NFC-enabled BlackBerry PlayBook tablet for May or June release, according to BGR.

200m NFC phones in 2012

There will be 200m phones with built-in NFC technology by the end of 2012, according to the new edition of Deloitte's Technology, Media and Telecommunications Predictions report. "Even if 2012 turns out to be no more than a 'transitional year' for mobile payments, the NFC chips will not go to waste," say the management consultants. "There are thousands of applications of NFC — from gambling, to games to healthcare — that could build up a head of steam over the course of the year, even if the media continues to focus on the 'digital wallet'."

Visa mobile spend heads for 50%

Over half the spending put through Visa in Europe in 2020 will be via a mobile device, predicts the payments company. The forecast is based on new figures which show spend on Visa cards in Europe grew 14% in 2011, totaling €1.16 trillion, meaning that €1 in every €7 of consumer spending in Europe is on a Visa card. Almost 80% of that is on debit cards.

Xing adds contacts with NFC

German B2B social network Xing has added support for NFC, allowing members to add new contacts to their network by simply tapping together their mobile phones. Xing is using the Android Beam peer-to-peer functionality included in Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich for its NFC service.

Entrust adds NFC to secure ID

Secure ID technology provider Entrust has added support for NFC and Bluetooth to its IdentityGuard authentication platform, enabling mobile phones to be used as corporate authentication devices. "Entrust empowers enterprises to use the mobile channel to deliver improved total cost of ownership, ease of use and compliance standards, while reducing the complexity of enterprise-grade authentication solutions," says president and CEO Bill Conner.

Utility meters to get NFC top-ups

Inside Secure and embedded semiconductor maker Freescale have developed a reference design for an NFC-enabled prepaid utility meter that users can top up with their NFC phone. The meters would allow householders who prepay for their electricity and other utilities to cut out the need to insert coins or make a special trip to top up a prepaid account card or key.

US retailers back chip and pin

"The US payments industry should undergo a coordinated migration to chip and PIN transactions which should support a broad range of payment types (contact, contactless, dual interface, debit, credit, stored value, private and 'white' label, etc.) and devices (cards, mobile devices, fobs, etc.)," says the Merchant Advisory Group, a retailer trade association whose members include Walgreens, Walmart, Target, Sears, McDonald's, Best Buy and Home Depot.

Tizen preview unveiled

The Linux Foundation has published a Tizen SDK preview to give application developers a pre-release look at the new mobile operating system. Tizen, a free open source OS based on Linux, is the successor to Meego and will support NFC. Development is led by members of the Tizen Association, which include Intel, Samsung, NTT Docomo, SK Telecom, Orange, Vodafone and Telefónica.

More news in brief...

 

January 27th, 2012

NFC World's latest news articles

  1. ZapTap puts NFC on the shelf
  2. Nintendo to include NFC in its next games console
  3. Schwing! LikeBelt concept reads NFC tags with a hip thrust
  4. Premo offers 3D NFC antenna
  5. NFC Playbook on the way?
  6. Swedish retailer launches NFC loyalty programme
  7. DeviceFidelity begins shipping NFC microSDs direct to consumers
  8. 200m NFC phones in 2012
  9. Visa mobile spend heads for 50%
  10. Xing adds contacts with NFC
  11. Entrust adds NFC to secure ID
  12. Utility meters to get NFC top-ups
  13. US retailers back chip and pin
  14. Tizen preview unveiled
  15. Australasian TSM certified
  16. LG readies 3D NFC phone?
  17. Paperlinks platform adds NFC
  18. OTI gets SIM+antenna patent
  19. SITA demonstrates NFC for airport check-ins
  20. PayPal expands in-store
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