Where are all the NFC speakers this holiday season?

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Where are all the NFC speakers this holiday season?

NFC speakers are basically Bluetooth speakers that allow NFC to pair the devices. For the iPhone there is a plethora of speakers available, but the Apple products are yet to support NFC. One of the great advantages that NFC brings is the ability to touch and pair NFC smartphones with devices like routers, speakers, earphones, etc. We would have thought that manufacturers would have been clambering over one another to get NFC speakers to market this holiday season but, in fact, choices are very few and far between.

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Taggle social NFC retail shopping is here for consumers and retailers

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Taggles social retail apps use NFC and barcodes to create a social shopping experience all based on Amazon’s web services

Word of mouth marketing has always been the most powerful form of marketing that has ever existed. If you add to the a viral expansion loop model some NFC, a massive database of UPC product codes, some social sharing abilities and shopping you end up with Taggle. Taggle is a new shopping service that allows consumers to scan bar codes, QR codes or read NFC tags associated with retail purchases and either review them or give them a star rating. Users of the mobile apps don’t even need to sign up for an account. Once a product has been scanned, the social bit happens and users can share their buys on Facebook and Twitter.

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Svelte Panasonic NFC smartphone with no name? I should coco!

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Svelte Panasonic NFC smartphone with no name? I should coco!

Okay, okay before you start frothing at the mouth too much at the sight of this good looking Panasonic NFC smartphone you should calm yourself as we probably won’t be seeing it Stateside. However, those lucky Europeans are likely to get their hands and a “D” shaped slice of style in March. In somewhat of an odd press release Panasonic announced its plans to enter the NFC smartphone race globally starting with Europe early next year, and penned out their plans for world domination. Well, world domination may be a little strong, but healthy growth is projected.

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The fall and rise of ViVOtech, their NFC ecosystem and your pink slip

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If ViVOtech is not on your short list for NFC POS terminals, wallets and other services you should be fired!

ViVOtech – they’re the firm that sells NFC POS terminals, right? Wrong. Gone are the days where ViVOtech can be categorized as just a payments hardware firm who have niched themselves in NFC. These days ViVOtech are an NFC ecosystem unto themselves. After parting ways with Verifone, ViVOtech found themselves between a rock and a hard place. From what we hear had that old problem of more cash going out than was coming in. No different to most of America at this point then!

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Samsung to launch retina resolution super NFC tablet in February?

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Samsung to launch retina resolution super NFC tablet in February?

Word on the street is that Samsung is prepping a retina resolution super NFC tablet in February that’s due to be released at Mobile World Congress that features impressive specifications. This is a rumor reported over at BGR today. We all know the rivalry between Apple and Samsung has reached fever pitch and there is no love lost. With that in mind, hearing that Samsung is planning on launching a super high resolution NFC tablet before the iPad 3 gets out of the gate is probably not too much of a shock to many. The specifications of this rumored tablet could set it apart from the upcoming iPad 3. The rumor suggests that the new NFC tablet from Samsung will be launched at Mobile World Congress and not at CES. Although that said we received invitations for the Samsung press conference at CES and we wonder if Samsung might give us a sneak peek.

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RIM goes down under to get to the top of NFC with Tapit NFC Marketing

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RIM goes down under to get to the top of NFC with Tapit NFC Marketing

Okay, save your lewd jokes about the title of this post – we have already made them here in the NFC Rumors office, we could have made it worse. Over the last few months Tapit has shined as probably the most successful NFC marketing firm in Australia, and RIM has been pushing their support of NFC around the world. Considering that RIM wants to promote the NFC capability of its BlackBerry Bold 9900 and BlackBerry Curve 9350 in Australia it would appear that Tapit would be a natural go-to partner to get the job done.

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Japan gets another Biometric NFC smartphone with new AuthenTec unit

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Japan gets another Biometric NFC smartphone with new AuthenTec unit

Biometric sensors are due to become a big part of the security in our NFC smartphones and AuthenTec are arguably the leader in this field with their biometric fingerprint scanner units and software. In many ways, to see the future of NFC we need look no further than Japan where the technology has already hit a too-big-to-fail status. Biometric security is already used for NFC smartphones in Japan with countless units using AuthenTec biometric scanners and software.

A problem with some biometric security like facial recognition is that a simple photograph can trick sensors. Although fingerprint scanners are another component that needs to be added to an NFC smartphone, the technology is harder to deceive with common tricks.

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Intel gets serious about NFC and upgrades NFC Forum membership

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Intel gets serious about NFC and upgrades NFC Forum membership

Today NFC scores another step forward in becoming ubiquitous as Intel upgrades its membership to the NFC Forum from a Principal member all the way to the top position of Sponsor level. First things first, this shows Intel’s intentions towards NFC .We have already caught sight of an Intel NFC tablet and the firm has also announced their intentions to support NFC and secure payments in their line of UltraBooks.

What makes the announcement of Intel upgrading its membership important is that the firm represents ubiquity across PC and Mac platforms. Its support of NFC represents mass deployment of NFC enabled devices that include PCs, tablets and laptops / netbooks. That alone will undoubtedly bring NFC capabilities to most users’ machines within the next few years. We have already seen Microsoft, Google, Samsung, Nokia, RIM and other large firms throw their support behind NFC, but very few have the clout of Intel. Because Intel is part of so many manufacturers’ product lines, the Intel announcement is as big as the Microsoft Windows 8 announcement in bringing NFC mainstream.

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Google Wallet experience is not great and needs improving

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Google Wallet experience is not great and needs improving

We are going to come straight out and say we are fans of Google Wallet. We think it’s great for consumers and wonderful for NFC. Having a brand name like Google behind NFC has started to educate consumers to what NFC can actually do and how much the nascent technology is set to change the way we interact with the physical and online world. Of course, the alternative being Isis helps add some sparkle to Google’s offering considering most of the US will be trapped in a closed Isis environment.

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Verizon furious at Google for Galaxy Nexus / Google Wallet statement [Exclusive]

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Verizon furious at Google for Galaxy Nexus / Google Wallet statement

As you can probably imagine we have been reaching out far and wide to get some more information about what actually is going on with Verizon and its distinct dislike of Google Wallet. Our search revealed that Verizon execs are “livid” with Google for supposedly making a statement about whether or not Verizon intends to allow Google Wallet on the Galaxy Nexus. We have reported for sometime how contentious the issue of Google Wallet has been between Google and Verizon and now Verizon’s top brass is said to be spitting chips about Google going public about Google Wallet.

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How to make a better NFC antenna with New rFid Concept

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How to make a better NFC antenna with New rFid Concept

You may have never heard of the New rFid Concept NFC antenna system, but you will soon want it in your NFC smartphone. If you have an NFC smartphone you will no doubt have become frustrated at one point or another with the ability to read tags easily. This is especially true if you are attempting to read NFC tags through glass or on certain materials like metals. At best most NFC antennas will only pick up a signal at around a distance of 4cm and sometimes substantially less. There has to be a better way, right? Well, there is and French firm New rFid Concept have it ready to roll with an advanced NFC antenna that substantially increases the performance of NFC smartphones.

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A note about WIMA NFC USA

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A note about WIMA NFC USA

This last week the NFC Rumors team headed over to San Francisco to attend WIMA. The show was a complete success with many industry stakeholders in attendance. We have so many posts coming from the show that it’ll take us a while to get them all out. Joanna Merchie and her team put together a great conference that really tackled issues, opportunities and NFC news that we can honestly say it is better than any other show we have attended about NFC.

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A question of ownership of the secure element for NFC mobile wallets

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A question of ownership of the secure element with regards to NFC mobile wallets

A big question surrounding the wallet wars is concentrated around who owns the secure element. The focus is misplaced, if that is the place where MNOs and service providers are focusing their efforts. Yesterday we posted about Verizon’s statements about the Galaxy Nexus where they obviously either made an error in their statement or were intentionally attempting to mislead the media about why Google Wallet would not be allowed on the Galaxy Nexus.

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Verizon taking a media beating over Google Wallet, plays coy

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Verizon taking a media beating over Google Wallet, plays coy about its intentions with regards to Isis

Well, it finally started – Verizon is being called to task about their position on Google Wallet and allowing consumers to use whichever services they want on their NFC smartphones. If you are a regular here at NFC Rumors, you will know we haven’t been keen about how Isis members have treated NFC and NFC services for consumers. However, the Galaxy Nexus has taken this industry known issue into the main gadget media today as consumers start to ask “can I use Google Wallet on the Galaxy Nexus?” The answer is no and Verizon are throwing mud in different directions to try and relieve themselves of any blame, and what they are saying is probably not true. Ah, PR departments. You have to love ‘em.

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Aditux demos NFC payments iCarte solution and more

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Aditux demos NFC payments iCarte solution

We like covering Aditux because the firm is always up to something new. We imagine their dev labs being like that of a mad professor with projects going on all over the place. From Nokia apps, to NFC tag management and writing software, Aditux crosses industries and sectors developing innovative solutions that use NFC. We met up with the CEO of Aditux, Jayden Khakurel, to find out about their latest and greatest project that moves Aditux into the NFC payments sector, and to see what the firm had developed.

Aditux has been working with the iCarte iPhone case to develop some NFC payments software for both retailers and consumers. Obviously with Apple not including NFC in the iPhone 4S, this has given developers a great opportunity to write NFC mobile wallet apps without competing with Cupertino at this point. What we like about the Aditux wallet is the fact it isn’t reliant on the iCarte system but allows all current iOS users to conduct NFC payments now.

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Learn how to build an NFC app at NFC Bootcamp

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Learn how to build an NFC app at the NFC Bootcamp training programs from OTA training

NFC isn’t new to the world, however, it is new to developers and consumers. With the untapped potentials that are associated with NFC development, training is a massive gap required to introduce experienced developers and newbies alike to code innovative apps. Well, we said “is” but really that statement should be “was”, thanks to the NFC Bootcamp. NFC Bootcamp is traveling the US and putting on training sessions in multiple cities training devs on how to develop NFC apps.

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Hands-on with the Taztag Tazpad NFC tablet at WIMA NFC USA

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Hands-on with the Taztag Tazpad NFC tablet at WIMA NFC USA

We have been following the development of the Taztag Tazpad, which took the title as the first NFC tablet to be announced, since earlier this year. From its inception, the Tazpad NFC tablet had its work cut out for it in standing up to colossal electronics giants who would undoubtedly release competitive products.

The Tazpad has prospered, moved beyond vaporware and is now in the market for integrators and larger organizations. As NFC tablets go, the Tazpad is the only one we know of that is available today and has features that make it an attractive prospect for business based implementations. In fact, it has features not available in a single slate anywhere else. We met up with Taztag Co-Founder and International General Manager, Michel Delaux, over at WIMA, where our first question was “Do you have one with you?” Luckily enough, he did!

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Hansaprint and UPM RFID launch TagAge NFC mobile app for Nokia phones

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Hansaprint and UPM RFID launch TagAge NFC mobile app for Nokia phones

TagAge was one of the first NFC converters to offer NFC business cards and other printed products containing tags to consumers and businesses alike. TagAge is made up from of a collaboration between Finnish firms Hansaprint and UPM RFID. The ease of use of the firm’s website has become the poster child of how the print industry may look in a few years time. Hansaprint with NFC tags from UPM RFID made TagAge possible and that partnership has now spawned a Nokia app that allows users to order NFC business cards, NFC stickers and blank inlays straight from their mobile phones.

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The big question is where is the money in NFC?

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The big question on attendees’ minds at the WIMA NFC USA conference – where is the money in NFC?

We want to look at a major question that is being asked again and again in the NFC industry – where is the money in NFC? The NFC Rumors team headed over to San Francisco last week for the WIMA NFC USA conference, hence why the site has been a little quiet while we were away. The WIMA conference was a success with great participation from firms from across the nascent NFC industry. Like with many industry specific conferences, attendees either had NFC products and services themselves or concepts they are attempting to fund. Two main themes appeared consistently with nearly everyone we spoke with.

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Galaxy Nexus NFC phone set to hit Verizon for $199 on 8th December?

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Galaxy Nexus NFC smartphone set to hit Verizon for $199 on 8th December?

When the Galaxy Nexus NFC smartphone is going to be released and for how much has been a mystery. However, recent leaks may have finally found the answers to those questions. The much anticipated NFC smartphone was caught on a flash ad that was released early by mistake, and it showed the Galaxy Nexus priced at $199.99 on a two year contract. That ad was seen on Android Police, Phandroid and Droid Forums. It was also reported by Engadget, which suggests it’s a little more definite than a simple anomaly. That same ad linked to a page that was unavailable and the URL and the title to that page contained a date of the 29th of November, which we think may be when the Ice Cream Sandwich NFC smartphone may be given its official release date.

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SmartMetric brings miniature biometric fingerprint scanning to NFC payments

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SmartMetric brings miniature biometric fingerprint scanning to NFC payments

SmartMetric intends to bring miniaturized biometric fingerprint scanning to EMV and NFC payments. You may remember SmartMetric, the company who is suing both Visa and MasterCard. That suit was for infringing on the firm’s patents relating to biometric security based on payment cards. SmartMetric has now announced it is ready for market, but what isn’t clear from their announcement is whether the firm intends to bring that biometric technology to NFC smartphones. SmartMetric mentions mobile payments multiple times within their announcement, but never gives distinct use cases. We know from the suit filed that the firm has developed products that fit onto credit cards providing what it calls “100% verification” that provides enhanced security for payments.

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IPI to talk NFC print marketing, QR codes and AR at London Workshop

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IPI to talk NFC print marketing, QR codes and AR at London Workshop

IPI is starting the conversation about mobile marketing using print as a medium, and technologies like NFC (Near Field Communication), QR Codes and Augmented Reality at its next workshop to be held in London, UK. NFC print marketing that uses QR codes for legacy purposes is growing in popularity. By now we are all used to seeing QR codes on posters and print media for a variety of uses.

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Aditux nominated for Red Herring for NFC software projects

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Aditux nominated for Red Herring for NFC software projects

Aditux has had a busy year and is now topping it off by getting selected as a finalist for Red Herring’s top 100 Global awards for its work with NFC software including Nokia apps and the recently announced NFC windows based software kit that comes with a reader. In case you are unaware of the Red Herring Awards, they are prestigious and well respected. Just getting selected as a finalist is an achievement for Aditux. You may remember that Tapit received an award for the South Pacific Red Herring Awards for their work with NFC marketing.

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Google and Apple will force MNOs to play nice with NFC mobile wallets

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Google and Apple will force MNOs to play nice with NFC mobile wallets says ABI Research

ABI Research has gone out on a limb by stating that Google Wallet and Apple will force mobile network operators to cooperate in the mobile wallet wars. ABI goes further to project that MNO market share will erode between 2012 and 2016 as Google and Apple claim loyal users. We hear similar sentiments daily about how MNOs will ultimately have to give way to a free market approach, as heavy weights show they can take consumers away from networks that don’t support a particular NFC mobile wallet that a consumer wants to use.

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Thinaire gets Halls to cough up for NFC marketing campaign

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Thinaire gets Halls to cough up for NFC marketing campaign

NFC marketing firm Thinaire got the gig to help Halls media and planning agency, Horizon Media, to launch an NFC marketing campaign in Chicago. You’ll remember Thinaire, the firm that created a digital billboard in Times New Square. That particular billboard had NFC tags placed underneath that allowed consumers to interact with ads with their Android NFC phones as they passed by. Well, it’s a different month and now there is another campaign for Thinaire to get their teeth stuck into.

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