CES 2009: Cell Idea and TazTag wave the flag for NFC

NFCW has received details of two more NFC products on display at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show, from Cell Idea in Hong Kong and TazTag in France.

HANDHELD: TazTag's TazCard is a biometrically secured NFC-enabled alternative to a mobile handset
HANDHELD: TazTag's TazCard is a biometrically secured NFC-enabled alternative to a mobile handset

Last week we wrote about four companies who showed products at CES 2009 that compete with or enable NFC applications and asked readers to let us know about any other companies at the show who were working in the NFC space. We’ve now received details on two more, Cell Idea and Taztag, and we’re still open to hearing about any others we might have missed.

  • Like Tyfone, Hong Kong-based Cell Idea is offering NFC functionality built into a microSD card format. Unlike Tyfone, however, Cell Idea’s microSD’s don’t include an antenna and are designed to work with phones that are already equipped with a built-in antenna and NFC circuitry. In those circumstances, though, Cell Idea’s microSD cards could enable issuers such as financial institutions, transit companies and others to bypass the mobile operator and deliver their own service direct to customers. (Smart card and SIM specialist Giesecke & Devrient also has a microSD-based product, the Mobile Security Card CL.)
  • TazTag is working on an innovative way to enable secure NFC-based communications without a mobile phone. The company’s TazCard is a compact hand-held tablet with a screen and onboard fingerprint-based biometric security which can communicate via USB, NFC and Zigbee and has the potential to handle access control, coupons, ticketing and payments applications.

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