Will the Samsung Galaxy S II / Attain / Function / Within have an NFC chip installed?

August is nearly here and that is said to be the month that the US finally gets its hands on the Samsung Galaxy S II, which is all set to be known as the Attain, Function & Within on AT&T, Verizon and Sprint respectively. Two big questions have been left unanswered about the US versions of the super selling Samsung Galaxy S II – will it play nice with LTE, and will it have an NFC chip installed? Trying to find an answer to these questions has been like trying to milk fish and perhaps, just maybe we may have our first clue to at least the NFC riddle. Eric Zeman over at InformationWeek posted an intriguing comment in his blog about the potential of the Samsung Galaxy S II having the NFC chip built in, but it being dependent on a carrier-to-carrier basis to whether it is enabled.

“It comes with support for a near-field communication (NFC) chip, but this option would need to be selected by network operators selling the device. It is possible that U.S. network operators will ship the S II with NFC activated, especially since they are closer to deploying mobile payment services,” said Zeman.

If this is indeed true that the Samsung Galaxy S II that will go on sale in the US next month and have an NFC chip installed, the question then arises to which networks will allow the chip to be turned on. Let’s look at what we know about the different mobile network operators versions of this very nearly mythical and legendary superphone.

Verizon Samsung Galaxy S II Function, NFC chip enabled?

Little is known about the Verizon Samsung Galaxy S II Function. We don’t know if it is destined to be an NFC phone and we don’t know if it will rock on LTE. There have been loads of rumors circulating about the phone but most have been hoaxes or miscommunications from Verizon that, in fact, referred to the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1. Nothing has been spied coming through the FCC as yet for this particular variant of the phone, although the main specifications are likely to be inline with the offerings from Sprint and AT&T, perhaps aside from a slider. We do know its name though – the Verizon version of the Samsung Galaxy S II will be called the Samsung Galaxy S II Function. Let’s just hope it functions with NFC and LTE. Isis is not ready for show time and it is possible Big Red will not enable the NFC chip on the phone, but only time will tell.

Sprint Samsung Galaxy S II Within SPH-D710, NFC chip enabled?

Keeping this phone a secret has been like trying to empty a bath with a colander. So far we have seen leaked images, leaked roadmaps and  FCC images. The Samsung Galaxy S II Within is 5mm taller and 3mm wider than Euro-spec Samsung Galaxy S II, and will of course pack CDMA and 4G WiMAX radios. Out of any of the networks, it would be Sprint who would be more likely to have the NFC chip enabled on the phone as they are already rocking an enabled Samsung Nexus S which has recently had its secure element activated in a recent update for NFC payments. By this time next month, it is possible both Google Wallet and the Samsung Galaxy S II Within could be paying for useless stuff we don’t need all over the country.

Click on the images below to view the gallery.

AT&T Samsung Galaxy S II Attain SGH-I927, NFC chip enabled?

We have seen plenty of information floating about regarding the Samsung Galaxy S II Attain. We know its name, we have a model number and we have seen its certification sticker float on past the FCC. AT&T’s Galaxy S II is a rather slender beasty in spite of having a full sliding QWERTY keyboard strapped on to its backside. However, the cheap plastic textured back cover on the phone looks like its fallen out of the ugly tree and hit every branch on the way down. There may even be two versions of the Samsung Galaxy S II Attain available on AT&T as the sticker that was seen at the FCC suggests this version may house a Tegra 2 chipset which was discerned from the I9103 moniker. What is more likely is that we will see the normal version first and the Tegra 2 variant a little later. AT&T, like Verizon, is a tossup on whether it would enable an NFC chip on the Galaxy S II, if it did indeed house the chip. Anything else at this point would be pure speculation.

Click on the images below to view the gallery

Samsung Galaxy S II NFC chip summary

Samsung has had massive success everywhere it has launched the Samsung Galaxy S II. Five million flagship Samsung Galaxy S II smartphones were sold in just 85 days. The phone is to date Samsung’s fastest selling smartphone and with good reason – it hit the 3 million unit mark in just 55 days. Samsung released the Galaxy S II in China this week, and plans to launch it in the United States starting in August, the company’s Mobile President, Shin Jong-kyun, told reporters last week. Whether or not the Samsung Galaxy S II has the NFC chip embedded will remain a mystery until the phone launches. The phone will come in unique form factors dependent on the carrier it launches with. With Verizon, you should look out for The Samsung Galaxy S II Function, with Sprint it will be called the Samsung Galaxy S II Within and with AT&T you will see the full QWERTY slider known as Samsung Galaxy S II Attain.