Pantech Sky Vega LTE NFC smartphone unveiled in Korea

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Pantech Sky Vega LTE and NFC smartphone unveiled in Korea

The Pantech Sky Vega LTE and NFC smartphone has been unveiled in Korea. It’s not often that we see a new competitor enter the smartphone market, and it is less frequent that we see one enter the market in the hero phone category. Pantech is not a new company, it has produced phones for quite some time. But the Sky Vega LTE is different. Pantech appear to have thrown away the rule book with their Sky Vega LTE, which is an all singing, all dancing NFC phone with some impressive specifications and pleasing aesthetic design.

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AT&T doesn’t care that you want NFC turned on in Samsung Galaxy S II

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AT&T doesn’t care that you want NFC turned on in Samsung Galaxy S II

AT&T has elected to not have the NFC in the Samsung Galaxy S II switched on. In doing so, we look at what this means for consumers, what it means for NFC and what it in turn means for AT&T. The redeeming quality of the AT&T Samsung Galaxy S II was that it has an NFC chip built in, and the mobile network operator has had the chip turned off. This raises the question – would this affect you purchasing the NFC phone when you can’t use the NFC chip you have paid for?

AT&T decided they didn’t want to go for the beautiful 4.5-inch screen that T-Mobile and Sprint opted for. They also decided their customers wouldn’t have the opportunity to benefit from that 1.5 dual-core processor that other competitors can boast. However, the one thing that the phone had over the Sprint phone was that it has an NFC chip built in which would have enabled social NFC actions, pairing with peripherals and sharing contacts. It could have also enabled payments too, but it appears because Isis is not quite ready to control your finances and market that you will not be getting any NFC goodness from the Samsung Galaxy S II at this time.

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Samsung SHV-E120L NFC phone outed, dropping down in Korea this month

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Samsung SHV-E120L NFC phone outed, dropping down in Korea this month

Another day, another NFC phone rears its head and this time it’s the Samsung SHV-E120L that has caught our eye. The team over at PocketNow spotted a post on a Korean website with specifications for the Samsung SHV-E120L NFC phone a couple of days ago. This new phone eerily echoes the specs of the LG LU6200 NFC phone and appears to be geared up to compete on a mano-y-mano basis. Samsung is finally embracing NFC in more and more models and the Samsung SHV-E120L is no exception. As more and more handset manufacturers are committing to NFC phones Samsung appears to becoming more competitive in every market segment and doesn’t look like it’s about to give any advantage away to competitors.

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Google Wallet is live but don’t get your NFC Samsung Nexus S 4G from Sprint

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Google Wallet is live but don’t get your NFC Samsung Nexus S 4G from Sprint

Yes we know, we know, the Google Wallet with Google Offers conjoined is all very exciting. All very exciting if you own a Samsung Nexus S 4G that is, especially because Google is pre-loading the Google Wallet with $10 for free! Alas the NFC wonder that is Google Wallet only works with the Samsung Nexus S 4G because that’s the only phone that is on Sprint and houses a Secure Element which is where your secure apps (like Google Wallet) live. So if you have gotten giddy at the thought of waving your NFC phone around like Harry Potter and magically making money disappear from your bank account, you will need the aforementioned phone. In the press release yesterday, Sprint recommended that you go give them $99.99 and they promised they’d send back $50 in a mail-in-rebate. We have to tell you that Sprint’s deal sucks and you can do a lot better on that Google Wallet capable phone if you take a quick look around online. What’s that? You don’t have the time? Well, it’s a good job we went and did it for you then. Before we get to the deals let’s take a quick recap of Samsung Nexus S 4G specification. We hope you are paying attention because we will be asking questions later.

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LG LU6200 NFC phone to be LG’s hero NFC smartphone?

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LG LU6200 NFC phone to be LG’s hero NFC smartphone?

Haven’t heard of the LG U+, which is also known as the LG LU6200, NFC phone? Nor had we until a few days ago, but it is impressive to say the least. LG hasn’t really lived up to its smartphone prowess lately and the NFC phones that the company has announced have been geared more towards budget conscious consumers. Meanwhile, arch rival Samsung trots out hero phone after hero phone to the point it has started to threaten Apple in a big way. That could change very soon, in LG’s homeland Korea anyway. The team at Engadget came across a new NFC phone known as the LG LU6200 on the Korean website MovePlayer. If the LG LU6200 NFC phone shown on this little Korean website is half true, it will look as if Korea will soon have an LG LU6200 NFC wonder phone on its hands. Today more photos have been accidentally on purpose “leaked” which you can see below.

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AT&T does have an NFC Samsung Galaxy S II after all, Sprint does not

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AT&T does have an NFC Samsung Galaxy S II after all, Sprint does not

Just when the world seemed cold and harsh, the team at Engadget turned our frown upside down by discovering that the AT&T Samsung Galaxy S II does have NFC support after all. We had reported sometime ago that Samsung was expected to ship models of the NFC Samsung Galaxy S II with the near field communications chip turned off and it was then up to mobile network operators to decide if and when they wanted it activated and this appears to be the case for AT&T. It was also surprising when there was nary a mention of NFC in the press releases issued yesterday for the release of the United States’ Samsung Galaxy S II. Further compounded by the fact that we saw an NFC Samsung Galaxy S II come through the FCC some time ago and things just weren’t adding up.

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Samsung due to announce an upgraded Samsung Galaxy S II LTE Super phone at IFA?

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Samsung due to announce an upgraded Samsung Galaxy S II LTE Super phone at the IFA show?

There is plenty of Samsung Galaxy S II news and rumors circulating at the moment. A latest tidbit reported by SammyHub has caught our attention firmly and brought up more questions than answers. We knew and reported earlier  that Samsung will be making some announcements at the IFA trade show this next week and we knew there would likely be some news on the 7-inch Galaxy Tab. Samsung had also hinted at a new phone being unveiled in the videos we also posted. Obviously the Samsung Galaxy S II is hot news here in the US due to the fact that Samsung has a press event on Tuesday to officially out the US variants of the Samsung Galaxy S II, but the rumors just keep on coming. The latest claim is that Samsung intends to out an upgraded version of the Samsung Galaxy S II at the IFA, which is said to be a superphone. We don’t know if this new phone will be NFC-enabled and only have the vaguest of rumors to go on at this point and they suggest the answer is yes.

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Samsung Galaxy S II US variants image leak

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A US Samsung Galaxy S II variants image has leaked ahead of Tuesday’s press event

An image has surfaced showing all three of the Samsung Galaxy S II variants that are due to be announced on Tuesday. We already knew that AT&T, T-Mobile and Sprint were due to launch a Galaxy S II variant, and we had been tipped off that Verizon was likely to hold off and launch an alternative Galaxy S II like device. The image that PocketNow got their hands on tends to suggest this information was correct. The hotly anticipated Samsung Galaxy S II line of phones has taken its sweet time to get to the US market and Tuesday’s event is now in some doubt due to hurricane Irene’s potential path that could wash out the event.

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NFC tablet brought to market in the form of the Sharp RW-T107

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NFC tablet brought to market in the form of the Sharp RW-T107 Gingerbread-toting tablet

Sharp Japan has just announced its first NFC tablet, the Sharp RW-T107. It runs on Android Gingerbread  and has an NFC chip built in. Sharp, a company who has long been associated with TVs and home entertainment systems, has recently been gearing up its product lines with phones and tablets galore. The new Sharp RW-T107 is likely to be a Japan-only slate at this point, as the company intends to manufacture 5000 units per month. However, now both TazTag and Sharp have NFC tablets in the wild which adds some more fuel to the fire to encourage other OEMs to get on board with their own NFC tablet devices. The Sharp RW-T107 has a 7-inch capacitive touch panel with a resolution of 1024 x 600 pixels, which makes it a great size for consumers to carry about and for merchants to use as POS interfaces and we expect to see a lot of retailers take on NFC tablet devices in the next 12 months. Samsung is also reputed to be launching the Galaxy Tab, which is a 7-incher that will be announced on September 1st in Berlin. We will have to wait to see whether it, too, is an NFC tablet.

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Is the HTC Incredible S the next Google Wallet enabled NFC phone, it just passed through the FCC

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The HTC PH85110 better known as the HTC Incredible S NFC variant passes through the FCC, will it be the next Google Wallet ready phone?

We found out over the weekend that the HTC Stunning was actually the HTC Incredible S with an NFC chip. We were told that the phone was a China-only event and yet just a couple of days ago, the HTC PH85110 stealthily winged its way through the FCC. It wouldn’t be the first time an OEM has gotten FCC approval and not used it. Just take the Nokia N9 for example, but we have a sneaky feeling the US could see the HTC Incredible S NFC variant soon. HTC has said that it would bring us an NFC phone by the 4th quarter, and perhaps the HTC Incredible S NFC variant is what they had in mind. The phone appears to be a GSM variant and if the phone does get put on a network in the States, it can only be with AT&T or T-Mobile and we would imagine that HTC would want the phone to be Google Wallet capable to build in some value. However, both T-Mobile and AT&T are part of the Isis NFC payments joint venture and this will be a very interesting test case to see whether the MNOs will allow Google Wallet on their network and could even ensue some legal challenges from Google if it doesn’t.

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Samsung Galaxy S II launch event for the US happening on the 29th August

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Samsung Galaxy S II launch event for the US happening on the 29th August

Samsung has announced that it will be holding a press event that we have heard is for the launch of the Samsung Galaxy S II. The event is happening in New York City and other than that, they share very little other details. But now you will finally get definite answers to questions like – what will be the official names of the Samsung Galaxy S II for each carrier? Will there be the NFC version we saw come through the FCC, and if so, on what mobile network operators waves will we be able to use it? With there be a version of the Samsung Galaxy S II with a QWERTY keyboard that slides out?

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Samsung Galaxy S II Hercules variant heading to T-Mobile US

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Samsung Galaxy S II Hercules variant heading to T-Mobile US and Telus

Breaking news this morning is that the Samsung Galaxy S II Hercules variant has been snapped and is definitely heading to T-Mobile. PocketNow and TMONews separately snagged images of the device that’s said to beat them all. It has also been confirmed that the Samsung Hercules is indeed a Samsung Galaxy S II variant. As it stands, we’ll not see any LTE for this beast and we’ll have to make do with HSPA+ and 42Mbps which isn’t too shabby at all. As you will see from the back shot in the images, the phone clearly states it’s a GSII variant.

Update on Samsung Galaxy S II Hercules specifications

Okay, for us here at NFC Rumors the concerning news is a lack of news. Not in any report that is surfacing this morning is there any mention of NFC. The rumors from back in May suggested the Samsung Galaxy S II Hercules would be an NFC phone and now that little detail appears to have dropped off the map. Of course, the Samsung Galaxy S II Hercules could always still ship with NFC but we will just have to wait and keep our ears to the ground for more details as and when they emerge.

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LG Optimus Net with NFC head to T-Mobile USA?

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LG Optimus Net with NFC head to T-Mobile USA?

LG announced its LG Optimus Net on the 15th of July with the promise that some versions of the phone would be NFC capable devices in certain markets. However, which markets would get the NFC version were not disclosed and the way the press release read suggested that it may only be Europe that initially received some NFC goodness from LG, which is a little odd when you consider that NFC is taking off all around the world and LG hasn’t really got a large portfolio of NFC phones. The way the press release read was very cryptic as to where and when we would see the NFC version of the LG Optimus Net. We have included the press release below for you to take a look at. However, the rumor mill has been peddling rumors in the last few days that T-Mobile USA may have committed to taking on the P690 LG Optimus Net NFC version on to the pink network, and we could see it in just a few short weeks.

LG Optimus Net NFC phone specifications

Specifications for the LG Optimus Net NFC phone are a little light on the ground at the moment, but we will give you what we have. The LG Optimus Net is a phone aimed with social networking in mind. It runs on Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) so it will be able to handle most things you chuck at it.

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Samsung Hercules NFC phone caught on camera, arriving on Telus soon?

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Samsung Hercules NFC phone caught on camera, arriving on Telus soon?

We have been wondering when and where the Samsung Hercules NFC phone would show. The trail had gone a little cold over the last few weeks and so it was time for one of those leaks that just happens to be picture perfect, to get us gadget lovers talking about the thought of holding a 4.5 inch power slate so anticipation can be built. The photo snapper who caught this shot is Ian Hardy over at MobileSyrup. And where would you think such a beast would choose to be caught on camera? Yup, Canada of course. Land of maple leaves, Tim Hortons and occasional sightings of mythical creatures and now a demigod embodied Android super NFC phone. We must find out where in Canada to go for sightings.

Samsung Hercules NFC phone rumored specifications

If the rumors are true, the Samsung Hercules NFC phone is as strong inside as its namesake and isn’t struggling in the looks department either. Reports differ on the processor speed – some say the Samsung Hercules rocks a dual core 1.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon APQ8060 thinker, while more recent rumors suggest that the gods have passed on a little more speed and that the phone will slipstream with a dual core 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon speedster.

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Ticketfriend announces TicketMaster competing Social NFC ticketing app

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Ticketfriend announces TicketMaster competing Social NFC ticketing app

Irish based company, Ticketfriend, has announced an Android powered NFC ticketing app that is set to challenge the dominance of TicketMaster for concert and sports events that adds social networking features.

The disruptive technology coming out of the Dublin based firm Ticketfriend is the first end-to-end (near field communications) NFC ticketing app to hit the market. The NFC ticketing app has the ability to manage every aspect of the ticket sale and admission process and adds a social element to the experience by allowing event attendees to connect with each other. With a mandate of reinventing the concert and sports venue experience with cashless ticketing and content delivery, the company seem well on track to achieve its goal. Ticketfriend has gone beyond anything else available on the market today and incorporates ticket purchasing, sharing with friends, admission via the NFC ticketing app, venue content delivery and includes an in-built loyalty program.

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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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Galaxy S II spotted, and is heading to Sprint as the Galaxy S Within, but is it the NFC i9101?

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Galaxy S II spotted and is heading to Sprint as the Galaxy S Within, but is it the NFC i9101?

The CDMA Samsung Galaxy S Within i9101, or as we more commonly know it, Samsung Galaxy S II, has been spotted all dressed up and ready to roll with Sprint branding. The Galaxy S II has certainly taken its sweet time to get here after launching in Korea ages ago and in the UK in June. The rumor has indicated that the smartphone will be available on the “Now Network” on July 24th, from an uncertain Sprint employee. So, your oh so long wait could be over and you may well be walking around with the Galaxy S Within your pocket. Another piece of related news is that the Samsung Galaxy S Within is said to ship with Android 2.3.4, so it would presumably support Google Talk video chat straight out of the gate. From the leaked photographs, we see that the camera housing has changed shape from a rectangular opening to an oval one.We also see a large Sprint logo adorning the back of the case, but what we don’t see is the FCC certification. If the phone is indeed due to launch on the 24th of this month, we would expect to see it come through the FCC soon.

Is the Galaxy S Within, the i9101 NFC phone?

There has been a lot of speculation as to whether the U.S. launch of the Galaxy S Within is in fact the Galaxy S II GT-i9101 NFC smartphone. Some media outlets are swearing that it is the NFC variant of the by now legendary superphone but there has been no evidence surface to confirm this. Other rumors are suggesting that the Samsung Galaxy S II GT-i9101 is due to be released in the UK by the end of this month, which if true, does add credence to the possibility that the Sprint Galaxy S Within could well be the i9101.

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Sprint slashes price of the Google Nexus S NFC phone

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Sprints slashes price of the Google Nexus S 4G NFC phone

Pick up a Google Nexus S 4G for $99 today or pay half of that with Wirefly and Amazon

It was only last week that we reported that you could pick a Google Nexus S 4G up for $49. Since then, Sprint has slashed the price of the Google Nexus S to $99 on a two year contract. Obviously the deals we reported will save you a further $50 that you can spend on whatever your heart desires, but it’s interesting to see the Google Nexus S being reduced to bargain basement pricing when it is far more capable than other phones that currently cost you twice as much or more. It is either being reduced to make way for the Google Nexus Prime, or it may be that Sprint and Google want to capitalize on the Google Nexus S 4G while it is still the only NFC phone on the market that will work with Google Wallet and has a secure element. Remember, it will also get Ice Cream Sandwich faster than any other phone. $50 is buying a lot of phone today, s0 here are the links where you can pick up a Google Nexus S 4G for $49- Samsung Nexus S 4G at Amazon or head over to WireFly. Head on after the break for full Google Nexus S 4G specifications and to see the video.

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LG Optimus Net Android NFC phone

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LG Optimus Net Android NFC phone

Meet the LG Optimus Net NFC phone that was announced by LG Electronics earlier today. So, LG went and finally got itself an NFC Android NFC phone that doesn’t look like it fell out of the ugly tree and hit every branch on its way down. The LG Optimus Net NFC phone is the first Android set that the company has produced and is a aimed at a budget conscience market with specifications that match. When you consider you can pick up an invariably more powerful Nexus S for $99 these days, we imagine the LG Optimus Net NFC phone is destined to be free or better when it comes with a two year binding contract. LG also announced its Optimus Pro, which doesn’t have NFC. Despite its Pro name, it has lower specifications than the LG Optimus Net Android NFC phone.

LG Optimus Net NFC phone features

Specifications for the LG Optimus Net NFC phone are a little light on the ground at the moment, but we will give you what we have. The LG Optimus Net is a phone aimed with social networking in mind. It runs on Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) so it will be able to handle most things you chuck at it. However, the company foresees the little handset being used socially and so have included a feature called LG Social+ (Google+, LG Social+ – coincidence or trendy new name we may see in lots of cheap electronics that refer to social networking?). The LG Optimus Net is said to combine the most popular social networking portals in one convenient widget right on the home screen. With a single click, users can multitask between updating their status on Facebook and Twitter while reading their friends’ social media feeds on the same screen.

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Turkcell T20 announced which is a rebranded Huawei Sonic with Cep-T Cüzdan NFC mobile wallet

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Turkcell T20 announced which is a rebranded Huawei Sonic NFC smartphone with Cep-T Cüzdan NFC mobile payments

Huawei Sonic U8650NFC NFC smartphone hits Turkcell re-branded as the Turkcell T20 and is launched with the new Turkcell Cep-T Cüzdan NFC mobile payment program backed by MasterCard.

The Huawei Sonic U8650 gets its first home on Turkcell, re-branded as the Turkcell T20 and comes packaged with a brand spanking new NFC mobile payments program called the Turkcell Cep-T Cüzdan. We had heard that Turkcell was due to pick up the sub $200 Android NFC phone, but didn’t know whether it would hit India, Australia or Turkey first. We even saw it breeze past the FCC here in the US. To say the Huawei Sonic U8650, or Turkcell T20 as it is now known, on Turkcell has piqued the interest of the general public is an understatement. When we first found out about the Huawei NFC phone and posted about it our site got slammed by eager NFC fans looking for specs and details. Well, it appears your wait is over.

Huawei Sonic / Turkcell T20 specifications

The Huawei Sonic U8650 / Turkcell T20 is one of the world’s first commercially available UICC (Universal Integrated Circuit Card), NFC – SWP (Single Wire Protocol) Android based device. Which basically translates as the phone itself has an integrated NFC chip right on the circuit board, but needs a SIM to act as a secure element for safe mobile payments.

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NFC phone $50, bargain for Google Nexus S 4G

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NFC phone $50, bargain for Google Nexus S 4G

Google Nexus S 4G is now only $49.99 at both Amazon and WireFly. We don’t often advertise where to get products, but from time to time a bargain comes around we think you will want to know about, and today is one of those days. If you have been wanting an NFC capable phone and you live in the US, you will have known that Sprint has the Google Nexus S 4G. The pure Google experience smartphone is still one of the most capable phones available and is the only phone at this time that is NFC-enabled. In fact, it was only Thursday that we reported that the secure element was being enabled on the Google Nexus S 4G in an update that improved the overall handling of the phone. The Google Nexus S 4G will also be among the first phones to rock the new Android OS Ice Cream Sandwich.
Google Wallet NFC Capable phone under $50 rocking on WiMax it can only be the Google Nexus S 4G

At this time, the two big features that people are looking for in their smartphones are NFC and the ability to slipstream along on a 4G network. Sprint has WiMax at this time and it is pretty fast with peak download speeds of more than 10 Mbps; peak upload speeds of 1 Mbps; and real world average download speeds of 3-6 Mbps. The Google Nexus S 4G has NFC and Sprint has partnered with Google for the Google Wallet. You can order your Google Nexus S 4G today and take on no real risk and be able to upgrade when you want. See below for details on that.

Source: Google Nexus S 4G

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How to enable the NFC secure element in your Google Nexus S 4G

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How to enable the NFC secure element in your Google Nexus S 4G

If you own a Google Nexus S 4G, you may be wondering why the NFC secure element you have heard so much about has never been enabled. Simply put, there has been no reason to have it enabled and it has required an update to enable it. The NFC secure element part of your phone is geared towards protecting sensitive data like credit card details, general account details and future uses, like driving licenses and other forms of identification. However, a Sprint update that will be winging its way to you within the next few days is set to change that. Sprint is floating the new update over the air starting on the 11th of July (4 days from now) and it will be pushed out over a 4 day period.

What else will come with the Sprint update aside from enabling the Google Nexus S 4G NFC secure element?

Well, we can crush your fantasies right now by telling you that it’s not Ice Cream Sandwich. Not yet anyway. The update does, however, contain some much needed improvements that should let your Google Nexus S 4G rock a little harder. Firstly, you will get a 4G settings widget which should allow you to save some juice when you are not actively using faster data. You can also expect TTY and NI support to be added, but what you will probably be more enthused to hear is that your little pocket beast is getting fixes that allow for improved WiFi capability, speakerphone audio quality and 4G throughput and signal acquisition. The OTA update will also improve the tuned signal strength indicators. The inclusion of the NFC secure element being enabled is just the cherry on the cake, so it’s all good!

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Samsung Hercules NFC superphone coming this fall

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Samsung Hercules NFC superphone coming this fall

The Samsung Hercules NFC superphone could hit T-Mobile with Ice Cream Sandwich at around the same time as the Google Nexus Prime, which is also emanating from the house of Samsung. We reported that a gaggle of NFC superphones were slated for this fall, and the Samsung Hercules is likely to make good on that promise and take the demigod award as it does it. The as yet unconfirmed NFC superphone has specifications that will make the Galaxy S II weep with envy – well, it would if it had bothered to show up to the party here in the U.S. – and has reputedly been fashioned by the gods and bathed in ambrosia before being packaged.

Samsung Hercules rumored specs are worthy of NFC superphone status

Ok, well we can pay a rumored phone compliments all day but the crux of the matter is what does this NFC superphone have under the hood to deserve such admiration? Reports differ on the processor speed – some say the Samsung Hercules rocks a dual core 1.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon APQ8060 thinker, while more recent rumors suggest that the gods have passed on a little more speed and that the phone will slipstream with a dual core 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon speedster. The uncertainty with the processor that the Samsung Hercules will use is exactly the same rumor that we can’t get a clear picture on with the Google Nexus Prime. These two NFC superphones share a lot of the same specifications and we wouldn’t be surprised if they are not variations of the same phone in different skins with differing radios for different carriers here in the U.S. That would make it pretty different, actually.

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HTC Desire could get NFC compatibility with upcoming Gingerbread update

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Over the last couple of months there has been flip-flop news about whether or not the HTC Desire would get Google’s Gingerbread OS which includes NFC compatibility. Yesterday the company confirmed on its Facebook page that it would indeed be upgrading its HTC Desire to run on Google Android 2.3 Gingerbread.

This is the quote from the company “Hi all- We’re excited to share that we are testing our build of Gingerbread for HTC Desire and will start doing quality assurance for it this week. When we have an update on availability we’ll post another announcement. Thanks for your support!”

HTC is testing Gingerbread on its Desire smartphone at the moment and should be releasing the update over the air within the next few weeks.

HTC Desire Gingerbread rollout date not announced

First released in April of last year the HTC Desire is starting to age, and it was feared that the device would not have enough memory to run on Android 2.3. The company had said it would not be updating the HTC Desire on the 15th of June but changed its mind within an hour and we have been waiting for an update ever since. The smartphone features a 3.7 inch display and zips along with a 1GHz processor and has 512 MB of RAM. The HTC desire ships with Android 2.1, or Eclair, and has a 5 mega pixel shooter with flash and geotagging capability.

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Samsung Galaxy S II launch imminent in Canada on Bell, SaskTel & Virgin Mobile

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Samsung Galaxy S II launch imminent in Canada on Bell, SaskTel & Virgin Mobile

Yes, you saw it correctly, the Samsung Galaxy S II superphone has release dates in Canada and they aren’t far off, which leads us to wonder. Don’t you love those days when you walk outside, smell the clean air and revel in the fact that the crime rate is minuscule, or that healthcare is free and good? Or, perhaps do you prefer the days when the Samsung Galaxy S II is going to be launched imminently and you know the Yanks won’t even get a look in? You know, the days when you know it’s good to be Canadian. We wish we could feel that, but we are in the States and can only look north green with envy, barricade ourselves in our homes with guns protecting our $700 bottle of pills. Only the bloody British can laugh at us all.

Samsung Galaxy S II Launching for as little as $79.99 in Canada

Canada may be America’s hat, but that appears to be only because that is where the brains are. We want to know how the Canadians have wrangled this year’s most anticipated phone before America even has credible rumors of a release and then have managed to get it for $80. Yup, SaskTel will let you walk away with a Samsung Galaxy S II for $79.99 and won’t even call the police. Well, as long you sign a 3 year contract that is. No official launch date as yet, just that the phone will be available in the coming weeks.

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