The NFC Forum has added the ability to use the cloud to establish connections between two NFC devices in a new candidate version of Connection Handover, the technical specification that covers the way in which NFC devices can establish a connection using alternative carriers, such as Bluetooth or WiFi... More
Close to half (46%) of the top marketers surveyed for a new location-based marketing report say they plan to invest in NFC this year. 41% plan to invest in Bluetooth beacons, 63% in WiFi and 57% in GPS. More
Shoppers in San Francisco’s South Bay area are being invited to take part in a pilot test of Hands Free, a payment service developed by Google that uses a combination of Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), Wi-Fi and location services to let consumers make in-store payments without taking their mobile phone out of their pocket. More
The Wi-Fi Alliance is extending its support for the internet of things (IoT) market with a new brand name for products incorporating low power, long range IEEE 802.11ah technology... More
Shoppers in four Taubman shopping centres in the US will soon receive offers on their mobile device via the guest WiFi network and mobile retail solution StepsAway... More
Hong Kong mobile network operator SmarTone has unveiled Kissco, an end-to-end mobile marketing platform incorporating Kiss Pay, a mobile payments service based on NFC and ultrasound technology, a Kiss Dollars loyalty program and Kiss Beacons to allow retailers to send out offers and promotions directly to customers’ smartphones from their stores... More
Smart lock maker August has updated its iOS app to allow people to unlock their front doors using an Apple Watch... More
Apple’s latest patent details how an Apple Watch could exchange information with another when wearers greet each other with a handshake... More
Electronics company Ricoh has launched the GR II digital compact camera, marking the first GR-series model to come equipped with NFC... More
German car maker Audi’s new Q7 model features an NFC-enabled tablet, allowing passengers to transmit information and entertainment to and from their smartphones which can then be distributed throughout the vehicle... More
A teardown of the Apple Watch shows a design centred on a custom processor with NFC components from NXP and AMS, ABI Research has revealed... More
Microsoft is to introduce support for host card emulation (HCE) payments in the mobile version of its Windows 10 operating system... More
Customers at a Carrefour hypermarket in Paris are now able to use their smartwatch to access their digital shopping list, tick off items as they go and receive loyalty points when they check out... More
Pizza Hut is testing a proof-of-concept “connected car” system that would let its customers order and pay for pizza from their vehicle before identifying themselves when arriving at the restaurant through Bluetooth beacons placed in designated parking bays... More
The speed, convenience and control of NFC have made it a clear winner with the American public in a study conducted by Strategy Analytics for the NFC Forum... More
Facebook has unveiled a new service called Place Tips that works with Bluetooth beacons, WiFi and GPS to show the social network’s iOS app users “useful and relevant” information about the places they visit... More
Mobile proximity solutions provider Ubudu has unveiled uBeacon Mesh, a platform that enables Bluetooth beacon installations to be used to create two-way mobile communications with consumers... More
Chip maker Broadcom has integrated NFC into its Wireless Internet Connectivity for Embedded Devices (Wiced) software development kit with the aim of making it easier for developers to build smart homes and Internet of Things (IoT) solutions that combine NFC, WiFi and Bluetooth Smart functionality... More
Keyssa, a US startup backed by US$47m in funding from investors that include Intel, Samsung and Dolby Family Ventures and chaired by Nest founder Tony Fadell, has unveiled Kiss Connectivity, a solid-state embedded connector that can be used to transfer data between two devices at up to six gigabits per second. More
Hong Kong mobile network operator SmarTone has introduced ST Beacon, a marketing service that lets retailers send promotional messages to customers with an Android or iOS device using Bluetooth... More