Galaxy Note has NFC onboard AT&T locks it, Ma’Bell’s Galaxy Note Fails

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Galaxy Note has NFC onboard AT&T locks it, Ma’Bell’s Galaxy Note Fails

Just a couple of weeks ago at CES, Samsung told NFC Rumors that the Galaxy Note did not have NFC capabilities. We took a spin around the Android OS and at the software level at least, this appeared to be confirmed. However, Samsung has now done its own tear down on the LTE device and what do we see? Yep, NFC is there. The IC can be clearly seen and the back cover sports an NFC antenna. This means Samsung was either not telling the full truth at CES or their show staff had no idea what was going on. Samsung Tomorrow reports that the specs of the torn down device exactly match the version heading to AT&T. So what gives?

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Shots of AT&T LTE Samsung Galaxy Note outed, said to feature NFC

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Shots of AT&T LTE Samsung Galaxy Note outed, no official word on NFC but tipsters show a board that is rumored to be from the Note with an NFC IC onboard

These are official leaked shots of the jumbo sized AT&T LTE Samsung Galaxy Note. Last week Sam Mobile reported that it had proof that the AT&T Samsung Galaxy Note would harbor an NFC chip. A recent trend with NFC smartphone announcements is to not feature NFC at all. AT&T and other Isis members have attempted to keep the NFC ability just until Isis is ready to roll, and hence we see a lot of NFC smartphones launching and have to wait until they get tear downs to see whether NFC is actually onboard.

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AT&T Samsung Galaxy S II rocking NFC after custom ROM

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AT&T Samsung Galaxy S II rocking NFC after custom ROM

As you may well know the AT&T Samsung Galaxy S II has dormant NFC capabilities. They are only dormant because AT&T has had NFC locked off at the software level and that has frustrated many NFC fans in the States. All because of Isis, yada yada yada… We knew custom ROMs were available, but we had never thought to write a post about it until some of the UPM RFID team let us know they had managed to enable NFC in their Samsung Galaxy S II on AT&T. We still think it’s crazy that an NFC tag firm like UPM RFID had to go through installing a custom ROM in the first place to use an NFC smartphone, but that’s another discussion for another day. So, if you are one of the unfortunate souls who have an AT&T Samsung Galaxy S II know that you can enable NFC on your phone by following some instructions and downloading a couple of pieces of software.

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HTC Amaze NFC Android phone heading to AT&T

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HTC Amaze NFC Android phone heading to AT&T

NFC Rumors has learned that AT&T is planning to add the HTC Amaze to its growing list of NFC capable smartphones within the next few weeks. The HTC Amaze has already been on T-Mobile since October 10th, and it now appears that AT&T wants in on some of the well specified HTC Amaze action for its own network. However, like every other NFC smartphone that goes on Ma’ Bell, it is not clear at this point whether NFC will be enabled at the time of launch. AT&T has disabled Near Field Communication chips in every NFC phone so far, but rumors are suggesting the launch of the Samsung Galaxy Nexus may be changing things over at the number two MNO.

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AT&T hits out at Verizon iPhone 4S and other NFC Rumors Exclusives

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AT&T hits out at Verizon iPhone 4S and other Ma’ Bell NFC Rumors Exclusives

We have learned that AT&T intends to start a marketing war with Verizon surrounding the iPhone 4S. Our sources close to the matter assure us that AT&T is readying ads that communicate that all iPhones are not created equal, and that their iPhone 4S will have faster data speeds than the Verizon iPhone 4S. It isn’t that the two companies haven’t gone head to head before in marketing wars, but neither have they been in cahoots before with Isis. This latest bout of sparring will no doubt create a tense atmosphere in Isis NFC payment meetings as Verizon fights back for market share. We have another post on Verizon coming up later today, so look out for that.

AT&T’s reason for shutting off NFC in phones including the Samsung Galaxy S II

If you read NFC Rumors on a regular basis you will know we keep our eyes firmly fixed on Isis mobile network operators as we feel they are doing consumers and the NFC technology a disservice in the way they are conducting themselves.

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Samsung will unveil NFC Google Nexus Prime & Ice Cream Sandwich Oct 11th

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Are you ready for Prime time because the Nexus of NFC is coming as the Google Nexus Prime with Ice Cream Sandwich is being announced October 11th

We have been waiting for the NFC Google Nexus Prime since the early summer, and it is starting to look as if our wait may finally be coming to an end as Samsung schedules a press event on October 14th. We have known for a long time that Samsung would produce the Google Nexus Prime,  since the inception of the NFC phone rumors started circulating early in the summer. However, remember we are likely to get more than just the NFC Google Nexus Prime, because this phone is said to be coming with Ice Cream Sandwich, which is Google’s next iteration of its Android OS.

The invite that has been going out to members of the press is titled “Google Episode” and suggests we will get to see what’s new from Android. The Google Nexus Prime is said to be the next evolution of the Nexus lineage of pure Google experience smartphones that will, of course, be bringing NFC along for the ride.

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Isis announces NFC phone allies for the looming wallet wars

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Isis announces HTC, LG, Motorola Mobility, RIM, Samsung Mobile, Sony Ericsson and DeviceFidelity as NFC phone allies for the looming wallet wars

Isis today announced that HTC, LG, Motorola Mobility, RIM, Samsung Mobile, Sony Ericsson and DeviceFidelity have committed to supporting the upcoming mobile wallet provider with NFC phones. For a service that won’t even open the doors until as late as the middle of next year, Isis is certainly making a lot of noise about its as yet non-existent service. We very much view this announcement as an obvious non-news statement to detract attention from Google Wallet. Of course, these OEM handset manufacturers are going to produce NFC phones that use SIM based NFC. They wouldn’t want to cut out the ability to get on to Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile USA’s networks. However, there are a few interesting aspects of this news that we will go into later in this post.

The official line from Isis:

“Isis’ technology standards provide the direction and certainty needed for the development and deployment of NFC devices and the mobile commerce ecosystem,” said Scott Mulloy, Chief Technology Officer at Isis. “Working together with the device makers and our founding mobile carriers, Isis can provide the consumer choice and scale necessary for widespread adoption of mobile commerce.”

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Top 11 reasons why you shouldn’t buy a phone without NFC

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Top 11 reasons why you shouldn’t buy a phone without NFC

NFC has reached a point where its inclusion in everyday life is a certainty within the next couple of years, and for consumers to benefit from NFC features they will need an NFC phone. Whether your penchant is for NFC payments or you like the Bluetooth pairing to speakers, near field communication is coming. Within the next year or so, we expect NFC keys to cards starting to become popular. Also expect NFC features built straight into our cars. Smartphone manufacturers are already starting to produce NFC phones and they are becoming more prevalent by the day, but there are still going to be non NFC-phones marketed to consumers. This post is about why you shouldn’t tie yourself into a contract on a phone that doesn’t come with the aforementioned capabilities.

Companies like Microsoft, Google, Intel, Nokia, Research in Motion, Huawei, Acer and Mozilla have said they intend to support NFC in products from now on. Service companies like Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Express, Rogers Communications and many more are building their businesses around the model of harnessing near field communications for their customers. However, the big “will they, won’t they?” question lays with the Apple iPhone 5. Many doubt that Apple will include a near field communication chip within its latest and greatest smartphone. We still think it is a 50 /50 split on the probability that the company will support NFC. However, if Apple doesn’t support near field communication, Apple fans will have been done a disservice by the company and there are plenty of Android handsets that are just as, if not more capable, than the iPhone.

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Will you get the NFC Samsung Nexus Prime? Is leaking the details a crime?

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Wax lyrical information leaker publishes NFC Samsung Nexus Prime details to Twitter in a poem

Will you get the NFC Nexus Prime? Is leaking the details a crime? We want to be sure, this guy is no bore, but without proof his poem’s not worth a dime.

Poetry is not dead when it comes to rumors, and last night saw the beginning of yet another poem that leaks information about the upcoming NFC Samsung Nexus Prime. The Samsung Nexus Prime is said to be the next Google Nexus hero phone that will debut with Android Ice Cream Sandwich. Rumors have been rife about the NFC Samsung Nexus Prime all summer and we have even seen Samsung confirm the phone’s existence when it threatened someone who has potentially got a hold of an Android build for the new NFC wonder phone.

Late last night Twitter user @tfleming223 started to recite a poem of his or her own making that started to potentially reveal some details about the upcoming NFC Samsung Nexus Prime hero phone. However, @tfleming223 would only release information, or the next line when he got to a certain amount of followers. That’s a bit corny, but does ensure his message gets out to the masses. From what we can gather so far, the NFC Samsung Nexus Prime is due to be released on the 3rd of November and is likely to be a world phone at that. The accuracy of this poem is completely unknown but it wouldn’t be the first time this has happened and been absolutely correct. Hit the break for the poem so far.

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AT&T Samsung Galaxy S II, NFC will be turned on [Exclusive]

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AT&T Samsung Galaxy S II, NFC will be turned on [Exclusive]

AT&T has had a struggle on its hands over the last few weeks with regards to the NFC Samsung Galaxy S II. On one hand, AT&T could block the feature for the time being and not allow anyone to get any NFC goodness. This would allow them to maintain control over the NFC experience until Isis is ready to be deployed and it can produce greenbacks.

On the other hand, they know that it is a feature customers want. The risk AT&T faces with leaving NFC off is that if Big Red leaves NFC turned on in the Samsung Droid Prime, AT&T could lose customers. Decisions, decisions, what to do? Maniacal control, or giving consumers what they want without a monetization plan deployed? You can understand their dilemma. Well, lucky for us we have sources close to the matter that have let us know which way the wind is blowing inside Ma’Bell. From what we are hearing it is looking like the AT&T version of the Samsung Galaxy S II is very likely to have its NFC turned on at launch. Our sources for this rumor are solid, but we always caveat by saying this is a rumor at this point and seeing will be believing.

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AT&T throws up coming soon page for NFC Samsung Galaxy S II SGH-i777

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AT&T throws up coming soon page for NFC Samsung Galaxy S II SGH-i777

The NFC version of the Samsung Galaxy S II has been a long time coming to the United States and Canada. We heard a couple of weeks that AT&T would indeed be bring us an NFC version of the Samsung Galaxy S II this fall. Today we have spotted a coming soon page over at AT&T with the obligatory email capture form to let you know when there is more news. In our experience those forms let you know a week after we report the news here at NFC Rumors, but if you want to get on the AT&T Samsung Galaxy S II mailing list click here.

Three of the four big carriers are getting their own version of the Samsung Galaxy S II, but only T-Mobile and AT&T’s version are expected to have NFC-capable hardware, although it is not clear at this time whether the nascent technology will be turned on at the phone’s launch as it may encourage consumers to use Google Wallet instead of Isis’ solution that won’t be market ready until 2012. We also have no idea yet whether the NFC version of the Samsung Galaxy S II will have a secure element. If it doesn’t, it will need a SIM card to enable payments and to store NFC based transaction apps which again will mean that Isis is your only hope of utilizing the Samsung Galaxy S II for NFC payments.

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HTC Holiday Android NFC phone caught in the wild testing AT&T’s LTE network

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HTC Holiday Android NFC phone caught in the wild testing AT&T’s LTE network, it’s fast!

The HTC Holiday NFC phone seems to get caught out in public more than a teenage pop star. Today it was seen out in the field in Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas testing the new AT&T LTE network. The image we have was sent to BGR and we have to say it is not the normal blurrycam photos we are used to seeing. The word on the street is that the HTC Holiday, or HTC Waikiki, which is another potential name for the device, could be AT&T’s inaugural LTE device that launches its LTE network later this year.  From a network perspective, this image shows the HTC Holiday topping out at a crazy fast 29Mbps, which looks good for Ma’Bells network. Although, we have to remember it is an empty market at the moment that the testers have to themselves. Even based on that, it is faster than speeds we have seen on Verizon’s network. Let’s just hope that Light Squared and its even newer LTE network makes AT&T’s look slow with equipment that gets faster from deployment to deployment. The HTC Holiday / HTC Waikiki is an Android device that is rumored to be one of the first Ice Cream Sandwich devices along with the Verizon Droid Prime, which up until this point we have known as the Samsung Nexus Prime.

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NFC iPhone conjecture ongoing

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iPhone NFC conjecture ongoing, Apple could struggle if it passes on NFC

It isn’t going to be long until we know one way or the other whether the iPhone 5 has NFC (near field communications) technology built in. We already know that Apple have developed  a lot of apps to potentially use NFC inside and outside of payments, so a formalized NFC payments market isn’t required for the iPhone to have success using NFC. Day in, day out here at NFC Rumors we share uses for NFC that extend far beyond payments and it is hard to believe that Apple doesn’t realize this and want to capitalize on the capabilities that the Cupertino company could bring to the technology.

Rumors are circulating that the iPhone is going to be available on Sprint (the only non-Isis carrier in the United States) and that the screen is of the sub 4-inch variety. See the BGR photo below that shows BestBuy is expecting a Sprint iPhone next month. Yet of late the expectancy of NFC being included in the iPhone has been quiet with most assuming that the issue has been put to bed and the expectations have been set that Apple will not support NFC this time around. However more so, now more than ever the iPhone is facing increasing competition and the iPhone 4 is no longer competitive on specifications or features that are offered in Android and other handsets. With Nokia banding together with Microsoft, the competition is about to get more ferocious than ever. Apple could sue every single handset maker out there and it still wouldn’t dull the consumer demand for more convergence and higher specified phones one bit.

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AT&T Nexus S NFC phone coming to Best Buy July 24th for $100 on contract

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AT&T Nexus S NFC phone coming to Best Buy July 24th for $100 on contract

Yes, the Samsung Nexus S is finally making its way to Ma’Bell, so even AT&T’ers can have a taste of NFC. It isn’t like you haven’t been able to use the Samsung Nexus S on AT&T before – it’s just if you have wanted to, it would have cost you a cool $600 for the privilege. Even then the phone was not optimized for the network, but that is now set to change as from Sunday. Best Buy will be selling the Samsung Nexus S as from this Sunday for $99.99 with an obligatory two-year contract according to the Samsung press release below.

Samsung Nexus S on AT&T may not have HSPA+

The Nexus S on AT&T probably won’t have speedy HSPA+ data so you would have to deal with good old 3G. If you have been chomping at the bit for the phone, which let’s face it is still a gorgeous piece of hardware that has NFC and is set to get Android updates before most phones out there. Alternatively head on over to the “Now Network” and through Amazon and WireFly where you can get the phone with WiMax for $50. Samsung Nexus S 4G at Amazon or head over to WireFly.

Whichever way you look at it, if you want a Samsung Nexus S, there has never been a better time to buy. With the Sprint version, the get out of jail charge is just $200 and falls further month by month, which will come close to a resale value when something bigger and better comes along. However, if you are set on an AT&T Nexus S and want to get it ordered now you can pre-order online at Best Buy.

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How to turn your non NFC phone into a NFC-enabled phone

Posted by Seth Planck

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How to turn your non NFC phone into a NFC-enabled phone

So you have heard about Google Wallet and Visa PayWave and are stuck in a contract for the next two years and find yourself wondering how you can turn your non NFC phone into a NFC-enabled phone. Well, it turns out that there are a few options in the market place. Out of the three options, two do not involve you selling your soul to your wireless carrier, which we consider is a good thing, right? The options available take different approaches to allowing you to turn your non NFC phone into a NFC-enabled phone including Micro SD memory cards, NFC Stickers & NFC sim cards. Off hand we can’t think of a mobile phone that wouldn’t fit into one of those categories so without further ado lets look at NFC Micro SD cards.

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Google Offers launches in Portland Oregon

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Google Offers launches its beta in Portland Oregon

NFC has another big day as Google Offers launches its digital coupon beta service to the first city on its hit list. Google’s daily deal service was open for business for local businesses in and around the city of Portland, Oregon today. The service which will directly compete with Groupon and Living Social is being called a MoLo service, a Google nickname which roughly translates as mobile local commerce. It has been just over a week since Google unveiled its plan to un-burden us from our wallets, with its NFC based Google Wallet and the accompanying Google Offers platforms. Yesterday evening at an AllThingsD interview, Eric Schmidt of Google revealed that the Google Offers beta would start in today in Portland. Google Offers is a slightly more ambitious project than its competitors offerings, making offers available to NFC-enabled smartphones within a city locality and allowing coupons to be redeemed at the point of sale via near field communications. The service can only be used on the Google Nexus S at this time because that is the only NFC-enabled ANdroid device on the market at this time, although we are told more are on their way. Like Groupon and co, Google Offers provide one deal a day, in a rent a crowd fashion but unlike its consumers do not have to hope for a certain amount of other consumers to activate the deal. Other web competitors like Yahoo & Aol simply aggregate offers from other sources like Groupon, but Google Offers has the backbone to source its own offers. Todays offer for Portland residents was a $3 for $10 value coupon for Floyd’s Coffee.

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