Items tagged with NFC
When the iPhone 5 finally hit the masses, it was missing one major feature: NFC. While most every other major flagship smartphone has NFC and support for contact payments, bump sharing and the like, Apple's iPhone is strangely missing out. But rumors are beginning to swirl that the next-generation iPhone may finally join the herd, and evidence is building. In fact, Apple may leapfrog rivals by not only including NFC, but also a fingerprint scanner. Last summer, Apple purchased AuthenTec for over $350 million -- which is a significant purchase, even for Apple. But one of the secrets of the acquisition was that Apple forced the company to stop licensing its technologies elsewhere. AuthenTec makes...
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So, here's the reality of the matter: Apple shunned NFC when it introduced the iPhone 5 last year without the hardware necessary for it to engage in tap-and-go payments. But there's always a workaround where there's a will, right? Right! U.S. Bank has just launched its new "Go Mobile" iPhone app for customers in Salt Lake City and Portland, inviting them to be amongst the first to try out payments with an iPhone 4 or 4S. Here's the deal: newly approved U.S. Bank FlexPerks customers who qualify and opt-in for the service will receive a customized U.S. Bank Go Mobile iPhone case along with their new card. As you may have guessed, that case has an NFC chip in it, adding to the iPhone what Apple...
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Google Wallet gives consumers the ability to store their credit and debit card numbers with a smartphone app and make payments at stores by tapping their phones at an NFC terminal. The concept is to make checking out easier and safer by letting people avoid carrying around a wallet full of credit cards that can too easily be lost or stolen, keeping card info securely stashed on a locked phone that can be remotely wiped, and enabling fast payments with the convenience of NFC. Now, according to a pile of leaked screenshots, Google Wallet is taking another form: a physical card. Or, to put it more dramatically, one card to rule them all. The Android Police received the screenshots from an anonymous...
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When we reviewed the Samsung Galaxy S III back in June, we had a chance to look at a cool use of NFC technology using Samsung's TecTile programmable NFC stickers and the corresponding TecTile Android app. Now, Samsung is updating the TecTile application to version 3.0. This new version is available just in time to be used with Samsung's latest NFC-enabled smartphone, the Galaxy Note II. As you may recall, TecTiles can be used for any number of tasks including launching applications, sending text messages, changing phone settings, and much more. With TecTile 3.0, you'll get plenty of new features as well as deeper integration with more apps. In addition, the new app lets you program a string of...
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Mobile payments may be the wave of the future, but NFC may still have some maturing to do. Meanwhile, physical card reading products like Square seem to be hitting the sweet spot in the here and now, and PayPal's not going to let the opportunity pass it by. PayPal's version of the Square reader, dubbed Here, is now on sale on AT&T stores. It's the first major foray into retail locations for PayPal Here, and it should definitely expose the option to a new crowd of potential users. Much like Square, Here enables users to plug a card reading dongle into a headphone jack, swipe a credit card and complete a transaction right on one's phone. It's a simple way to accept credit card payments for...
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While everyone is bringing their own mobile devices to work, those phones might as well be put to work contributing to building security; at least that’s the purview of HID Global, which announced the results of a pair of pilot studies using NFC technology in employee smartphones to (physically) open doors at companies and contribute to overall facility security. Using HID Global’s iCLASS SE platform and iCLASS SE credentials and NFC-enabled Samsung Galaxy S III smartphones, the company conducted tests at both Netflix HQ and Good Technology (a secure enterprise mobility solutions provider). Proximity readers were placed at various entrances at Netflix--Good Technology used the SARGENT...
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Where there are systems for financial transactions, there will always be opportunities to skirt those systems, and that holds true for NFC transactions, too. Researchers have already demonstrated a hack for Android NFC that lets them refill fare card balances for transit systems, including subways, in two states. The key to the hack is UltraReset, which was developed by researchers Corey Benninger and Max Sobell at Intrepidus Group. The researchers used the app to successfully refill balances on fare cards in New Jersey and San Francisco, using the app on Android phones that have NFC capabilities. Using a legitimate transit card, they simply stored the balance via the app, used up the...
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With the Window 8 launch looming, Asus announced two new tablets today that are designed to run the new, touch-centric operating system. Asus is taking the same route with the Vivo Tab that Microsoft is with the Surface: launching Intel-based and RT models at the same time. Asus has released some detail on these tablets prior to this; the device was originally known as the Tablet 810. The Tab RT was known as the Tablet 610. Both models are also following the Surface’s lead by including detachable QWERTY keyboards. You’ll be able to tap and swipe the Super IPS+ displays when you’re on the go and attach the keyboard when you need to type. Interestingly, the keyboard...
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Back when Near Field Communication (NFC) technology was just becoming known, there were some who worried that it would create yet another potential attack vector for mobile devices by dint of being a wireless technology over which users would be transmitting sensitive payment or personal data. The general consensus seemed to be, however, that unlike WiFi and Bluetooth, NFC would beam data at such a close range--just an inch or so--that even it was hackable, it would be too difficult for a criminal to intercept the signal. Thanks to hacker Charlie Miller, that’s all out the window. At the Black Hat Conference (which, incidentally, is absolutely the worst place on the planet to try and get...
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One of the most highly anticipated Android phones of the year is the Samsung Galaxy S III. This smartphone comes with a number of new features we haven't seen on other phones including S Voice (improved voice control functionality), new sharing features, NFC features including Samsung's new TecTiles, and more. The hardware specifications for the Galaxy S III are impressive as well. The US variations of this phone feature a 4.8-inch HD Super AMOLED touchscreen (1280x720), a 1.5GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor, 2GB RAM, 16 GB or 32 GB of internal memory, an 8MP rear-facing camera, a 1.9MP front-facing camera, and a 2100 mAh Lithium Ion battery. And all of the Galaxy S III smartphones...
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One of the most highly anticipated Android phones of the year is the Samsung Galaxy S III. This smartphone comes with a number of new features we haven't seen on other phones including S Voice (improved voice control functionality), new sharing features, NFC features including Samsung's new TecTiles, and more. The hardware specifications for the Galaxy S III are impressive as well. The US variations of this phone feature a 4.8-inch HD Super AMOLED touchscreen (1280x720), a 1.5GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor, 2GB RAM, 16 GB or 32 GB of internal memory, an 8MP rear-facing camera, a 1.9MP front-facing camera, and a 2100 mAh Lithium Ion battery. And all of the Galaxy S III smartphones...
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Samsung introduced TecTiles which are NFC tags you can program to launch an application, send a text message, change phone settings, share contact information, and more using an NFC-equipped Galaxy smartphone. These TecTiles are basically little stickers that you can place anywhere you want to automate tasks on your phone. For example, you could put a TecTile in your car and use it to automatically set your phone to driving mode. Alternatively, businesses could use a TecTile to present discounts to a potential customer. TecTiles can be programmed using a free application found in the Google Play marketplace. The tiles can be reprogrammed as often as you want. TecTiles will be available in all...
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We've heard Sprint might be working on a new wallet app that could compete with or replace Google Wallet, and now some leaked slides from Sprint seem to back up these rumors. From what we can gather from the slides obtained by Android Central, you'll need to enter a four-digit code to access information in your mobile wallet. After entering the pass code, you'll see the main screen with various options. If you tap the phone to a credit card reader, you'll see a screen with your credit cards instead of the main screen. When you're finished using the wallet, you'll see a brief animation while the wallet locks. The app also appears to have loyalty options; logos for Starbucks, Macy's, Barnes &...
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RIM's still in turnaround mode, yes, but they have to create products in the meantime. With BlackBerry World kicking off this week in Orlando, the first doodad out of the gate is the new Music Gateway. It's a small, powerful product that streams audio over Bluetooth, while also pairing with NFC for some remote control action. It's a device made for use with your car and at home, enabling you to send music from your BlackBerry to existing speakers. It'll sell for just $50, and it slated to ship in June. As for the NFC bit, it'll turn your phone into a remote if there's NFC within (like on the Bold 9700 or Curve 9630). That's about it for the dongle, but hey, it's $50. Hopefully RIM has more in...
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There’s a new Xperia phone coming from Sony, the Xperia sola, and it comes packing some interesting features. Most notably, the Xperia sola features “floating touch”, which allows users to navigate the Web browser by hovering a digit about the screen as opposed to actually touching it, creating a sort of cursor-like experience. A physical tap is akin to clicking a link. Sony stated in the press release that it will continue to evolve as new use cases are discovered and devs add to and improve the technology. The phone also sports NFC Xperia SmartTags, little dog tag-like devices that can be set up to perform certain commands such as turning WiFi or launching certain apps, and...
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Mobile World Congress is just around the bend, and that means a deluge of new smartphones comin' atcha. As if there hasn't already been a waterfall of them for the past few years. At any rate, LG is following up on the Optimus Vu announcement with a little tap-and-go announcement, as the Optimus LTE Tag is going to be the company's newest, latest and greatest LTE + NFC smartphone. NFC has taken off in a major way since the introduction of Google Wallet and the decision of many smartphone makers to start embedded these chips in smartphones, and LG's hoping to continue the push. The Optimus LTE Tag advances LG's vision of offering the most diverse collection of LTE devices for all types of customers....
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Mobile payments are quite clearly riding the wave into the future, and with Google Wallet taking charge on just a few phones, there's plenty of opportunity for others to come in and steal some of that pie. Visa has recently begun the certification of smartphones for use as Visa Mobile Payment Devices. In particularly, NFC-enabled smartphones from Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics, and Research In Motion approved for use with Visa payWave, Visa's mobile application for payments at the point-of-sale. Visa payWave will support the Galaxy S II, LG Optimus NET NFC, BlackBerry Bold 9900, Bold 9700 and Curve 9360, as well as the Curve 9380. All the new devices certified by Visa host the Visa payWave...
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Mobile payments, hooray! They seem to be all the rage these days, and now Intel and MasterCard are announcing a "multi-year strategic collaboration to further enhance the security and consumer payment experience for online shopping." What's that translate to? We're told that this collaboration will combine MasterCard's expertise in payment processing and commerce with Intel's strengths in silicon innovation and chip-based security. It is designed to provide more options for a safer and simpler checkout process for online merchants and consumers using Ultrabook devices and future generations of Intel-based PCs. Ultrabooks? Mobile payments? Huh! The new partnership will involve PayPass and Intel's...
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Does Google Wallet have a real future? Tap-to-pay schemes have worked well in many, many places all over the world, and with America's infrastructure, there's really no reason why it shouldn't work well here, too. While Wallet had to launch in limited markets at first, things are slowly but surely starting to expand. This week, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie announced that NJ TRANSIT is the first public transportation agency to partner with Google Wallet, Google's recently released contactless payment system. With Google Wallet, NJ TRANSIT rail and bus customers have the option to use their smartphones to tap and pay for transportation tickets at select locations. "Our partnership with...
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Oracle revealed on Tuesday plans for its next-generation mobile and embedded development platform, JavaME 7. JavaME is the mobile system upon which the most intelligent phones were based before there were today's crop of smartphones, and it still powers billions of devices. It is also the thing over which Oracle is suing Google, claiming that Google illegally copied parts of JavaME when creating Android. (We'll quickly note before getting back to JavaME 7 that it looks like Oracle had a point. Earlier this month evidence surfaced that an Android developer did copy nine lines of code from Java, according to a report by MobileMedia ) Once upon a time, JavaME was the greatest thing to hit mobile...
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NFC has officially hit the big-time. How do we know? Because Broadcom just put out a press release introducing the first NFC chips in 40nm, which would have probably been chuckled at by the public even a decade ago. But now, NFC is on the tip of every tongue in tech, particularly now that Google Wallet is rolling out in select cities to those with a Nexus S 4G. The new BCM2079x solutions are the industry's first near field communications (NFC) chips manufactured in 40 nm CMOS process for smaller size and the industry's lowest power consumption, and they support multiple embedded secure elements and/or SIM cards for contactless payment and secure applications. Device-to-device data/video transfer,...
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If there's one thing blowing up in the tech universe this year, it's mobile payments. PayPass, Google Wallet, NFC and others have taken off, starting in Asia years ago, and now being embraced North America. It shouldn't come as any surprise, then, that a company most people have never heard of is getting into the game. ERPLY, a provider of cloud--based mobile, laptop, and desktop point-of-sale (POS) and retail inventory management solutions, has just announced the ERPLY mobile credit card reader for handheld mobile devices to deliver secure, fast and convenient payments for businesses large and small. The ERPLY reader is designed to meet the demands of customers and retailers today and in the...
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