Fall into NFC: Massive NFC Rumors getting ready to break this Autumn

We receive a lot of tips from people who have some knowledge but dare not share all what they know. This week there has been a lot of whispers coming our way and many are so cryptic they intrigue us, but we can’t do anything with them. Now, we wouldn’t normally post NFC Rumors as obscure as we have received but these ones come from trusted sources and are potentially huge. In this post we will give you the rumor and then let’s do a little speculation to what it could mean. From what we can tell it isn’t going to be long before this news starts to break. However, we are calling for more information from you guys within these companies and within the industry. Our sources have already put us on the trail and we now need a little more detail to round these NFC Rumors out. Please use the Tip Us form – any information you send will be treated in complete confidence and your identity will never be compromised if that is your wish. Okay, here are the NFC Rumors…

Google Wallet NFC Rumors

Google Wallet NFC Rumors. We have been told that in around a week, maybe two, that Google is going to make an announcement about its Google Wallet product and that the announcement is not about payments. Our mind went into overdrive with this cryptic piece of information as we batted back and forward potentials. Back at the NFC Payments Europe conference, Osama Bedier mentioned casually that Google may use the Google Wallet as a digital ID product that could house driving licenses, passports and official IDs. That would be one use that is not linked to payments that the search giant could announce.

However, since Google first announced its Google Wallet, team Isis MNO members have been closing down the market on Google by firstly only allowing SIM-based secure elements to function on their networks and then naming Isis as the trusted services manager. Because Google has gone with the secure element with the first phone, it may now have also given the Google Wallet the ability to work with a SIM solution also. Of course, Google may have also made a deal with the devil and signed on as part of Isis, but that would be downright concerning from a choice for consumers’ perspective. There is also the chance that Google will start giving out NFC stickers to enable non-NFC Android phones to join in on the Google Wallet fun. Of course, there is also the chance that the announcement is related to the Droid Prime / Nexus Prime that is rumored to be making its way to Verizon in October, but our guts tell us that the Prime announcement is a given and this is something entirely different. We only have a week or two to wait until we hear what’s what with these NFC Rumors, so feel free to speculate in the comments.

BlackBerry NFC Rumors

Well, if you thought the last one of our NFC Rumors was cryptic, wait until you get a load of this one. We have been hearing whispers from a couple of sources suggesting that a major corporation – as in giant – will stand on stage with Research in Motion and will launch and demonstrate a corporate NFC product. Okay, we’ll admit it – the whispers in the wind have us stumped with this one and the information we have received is just too undefined to really call. We think a good start would be BlackBerry standing on stage and fixing the NFC in the BlackBerry Bold 9900 and 9930 before anything else. As far as a major corporation that has an NFC product that will be aimed at enterprise, we find we can speculate, but it is just guesses at this point so we will leave it to you in the comments. The only thing we could even think of was the Rogers announcement about becoming a bank but that will not be finalized for up to a year so it can’t even be that. These are just NFC Rumors at this time so do not take them as fact, but we will say they are NFC Rumors from people who are in the know.

OS company NFC Rumors

Yep, we saved the best for last. Each of these NFC Rumors have become progressively more obscure and this one is no exception. Two separate reliable sources have told us that a massive OS company is getting ready to announce something huge dealing with NFC phones. Neither of our sources would say any more than that unfortunately. Our hearts went a flutter when we heard this one. To say it’s not a lot to go on is an understatement, but this NFC Rumor has legs and a multitude of possibilities. We have heard and reported that Microsoft are building an NFC mobile wallet and that could be the announcement. We have heard from Nokia that all upcoming handsets will feature NFC from now on and that would include Windows Phone 7 devices. Nokia world happens at the end of October and this is when we could see this NFC Rumor come to fruition.

At the same point, Apple has been deathly quiet when it comes to NFC. The Cupertino company has more patents than they know what to do with when it comes to NFC. NFC Rumors this week suggested that the new iPhones are being manufactured sans iOS 5, which suggests there is something they don’t want to show or have leaked out. Quite frankly, Apple may have lost its opportunity if it doesn’t introduce NFC this year as Microsoft and Google and Isis will all be in the market before them which Apple won’t like one little bit. There are billions at stake here and when we think of huge OS’s it can only be Google, Apple or Microsoft. We have counted out BlackBerry because that would have been part of a different NFC Rumors and as far as we know, QNX isn’t ready as yet outside of the PlayBook which is taking a nose dive at the moment. If you know anything about this rumor, give us a shout.

NFC Rumors summary

These NFC Rumors maybe cryptic, but we trust that there is an absolute truth to each and every one of them. As we have mentioned, our sources are trusted and we hope to be drip fed more details in the coming weeks and we will, of course, bring you the details as and when we get them. For now we wanted you to know about the whispers so that as and when we find out more, you can correlate new information to this post. Every company we speak to at the moment is telling us that they have major announcements coming this fall, so there are going to be plenty more NFC Rumors flying your way. We know we are likely to see the BlackBerry Bellagio NFC phone being announced. There is also the HTC Holiday / Waikiki rumored to be launching in October. Apple could still pull the iPhone NFC out of the bag as yet with deep Lion integration. We can also expect to see the Visa mobile wallet and Nokia will undoubtedly have NFC WP7 devices to launch at Nokia World.

Welcome to the age of NFC. It appears to be starting this autumn, and from what we can tell things are going to be big as major forces unleash competing products. We will keep bringing you NFC Rumors and we will always state how reliable our information is or is not. If you have NFC Rumors for us as we said, hit the Tip Us page with this link here, and comment below to be part of the speculation because it’s fun.