Microsoft scooping up Nokia rumors resurface either way looks good for NFC

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Microsoft scooping up Nokia rumors resurface today as a bank advises its investors it will happen in the first half of 2012, either way looks good for NFC

Interesting speculation started up again today suggesting that Microsoft and Nokia may be in talks to see whether they can carve out a deal which could possibly see Nokia selling its smartphone business. This isn’t the first time this rumor has circulated and last time was strongly refuted by Nokia. This time the rumor has emanated from Danske Bank, which is Denmark’s largest bank and claimed that Nokia will sell its smartphone division to Microsoft during the first half of 2012. There is never fire without smoke, but the Danish bank didn’t give any background on the issue to back up its claim.

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NFC added to free Microsoft Tag platform boosts NFC marketing

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NFC added to free Microsoft Tag platform boosts NFC marketing

Microsoft Tag is one of those products that may have passed you by in the past. Today’s announcement that the firm will include NFC tag support in the app and web interface may have just let Microsoft Tag find its sea legs and become a relevant tool to be used by small businesses and marketers alike. The project has been about since 2009 and previously supported 2D barcodes and QR codes and didn’t really inspire.

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Nokia Sabre Windows Phone 7 device spotted, NFC not mentioned in specs

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Nokia Sabre Windows Phone 7 device spotted, NFC not mentioned in specs

A new Nokia Windows Phone 7 device has been spotted that is being dubbed the Nokia Sabre. We suspect that there will be a few Nokia Windows Phone 7 devices announced this next week at Nokia World and we also suspect that Nokia will enable these Windows Phone 7 devices with NFC. However, all specifications for any leaked Nokia Windows Phone 7 come without mentioning NFC at all in any way, and the Nokia Sabre Windows Phone 7 device doesn’t break from that tradition. But we do have some Nokia Sabre specifications to share.

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Windows Phone 7 to get NFC within the next year

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Windows Phone 7 to get NFC within the next year

Microsoft’s President of Windows Phone, Andy Lees, confirmed that Windows Phone 7 handsets would rock NFC chips within the next year. It’s not like we didn’t know that Windows Phone 7 phones wouldn’t become NFC smartphones in the somewhat near future, but it is always nice to hear it straight from the horse’s mouth.

“Microsoft is providing technological building blocks so payments can be done on the phone — we aren’t competing with other people providing services. We’ll have a platform approach,” said Andy Lees.

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Nokia 800 press shots leaked still wondering about NFC

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Nokia 800 press shots leaked still wondering if it is an NFC phone to go with the Nokia Wallet we exclusively reported about last week

With all the Google news today, it’s easy to forget that Nokia is getting ready to have Nokia world and probably launch the Nokia 800. However, PocketNow got hold of press photos of the Nokia 800 and put it straight back on our radar and we are asking ourselves the same question all over again. Is the Nokia 800 an NFC phone capable of NFC payments?

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Nokia 710 Windows Phone 7 NFC smartphone mistakenly shown on Dev site

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Nokia 710 Windows Phone 7 NFC smartphone mistakenly shown on Dev site

Another day, another Nokia phone leak and today it’s the turn of the Nokia 710. It appears from what we can tell to be a Windows Phone 7 smartphone, but there was no mention of NFC from the specifications that were leaked. Nokia World is approaching fast and as we exclusively reported the other day Nokia is building the Nokia Wallet and is in the final stages of negotiating JP Morgan Chase as the bank that will partner Nokia in the venture.

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Nokia Wallet is happening final negotiations with JP Morgan NFC Rumors Exclusive

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Nokia Wallet is happening as final negotiations with JP Morgan Chase are taking place, NFC payments for Windows Phone 7?

NFC Rumors has received exclusive information about Nokia planning the final stages of the Nokia Wallet. This information comes from another trusted source to NFC Rumors that has told us that Nokia is in the final stages of negotiating with JP Morgan Chase to act as the banking arm of the Nokia Wallet.

We heard that Nokia was planning its own Nokia Wallet or NFC mobile wallet weeks ago, but we didn’t have anything concrete enough to report it to our NFC readers. That has since changed.  We are now being told that negotiations are in the final stages and that Nokia is likely to go through with this partnership. This new revelation will change the wallet wars and has various connotations that we can now explore.

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Nokia NFC Luna Bluetooth Headset

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Nokia NFC Luna Bluetooth Headset

Nokia released its Nokia 603 Symbian Belle NFC phone today and what would a Nokia launch be without an accessory to match, which is why Nokia also launched the Nokia NFC Luna Bluetooth Headset.

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Nokia 603 Symbian Belle NFC phone gets official

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Nokia 603 Symbian Belle NFC phone gets official

Nokia has officially unleashed the Nokia 603 Symbian Belle NFC phone. Last week we reported the rumored specifications and images, but Nokia has now unveiled the Nokia 603 which is coming in at a very affordable price point of around $274 or 200 Euro. Nokia are once again focusing on NFC capabilities built straight into the Nokia 603. Nokia said in its press release that “The Nokia 603 is designed to appeal to first time smartphone users and those upgrading from older products, particularly existing users of Nokia smartphones who will welcome a device that offers all the latest technology and features in a package that is still uniquely Nokia.”

“The Nokia 603 continues the renewal of our smartphone range with products that are uniquely matched to the needs of people around the world,” said Tuula Rytila, Senior Vice President of Nokia. “Whatever the price-point, our aim is to ensure all Nokia smartphones are crafted for use, have Nokia’s trusted quality, are better connected, and contain unexpected surprises like the ability to tap to pair and share with NFC.”

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Nokia 800 Windows Phone 7 leaked, is it an NFC phone?

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Nokia 800 Windows Phone 7 leaked, is it an NFC phone?

Images of the Nokia 800 Windows Phone 7 have been leaked. Nokia World is only a few weeks away now, so it is probably not so surprising that there has been image leaks of what we first knew to be the Nokia Sea Ray. However, we have also seen references to the Nokia 800 that identify it as the Sabre, Ace and Sun  – which could be alternative names for different markets.
Nokia is widely expected to launch its first Windows Phone 7 devices at Nokia World, but it is yet unknown whether these new smartphones will feature NFC. In the past Nokia committed to enabling all smartphones with NFC from this point on, and that has certainly been true for the Symbian handsets we are seeing. But whether that statement also applies to Nokia Windows Phone 7 devices, like the Nokia 800, still remains unclear.

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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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Symbian Belle and its NFC prowess to hit India by end of year

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Nokia says Symbian Belle and its NFC prowess to hit India by end of year

Nokia is planning on deploying Symbian Belle and its NFC capabilities to Indian handsets before the end of the year. Many of Nokia’s phones in India that are not capable of NFC are many of those are currently running on Symbian Anna, but news that has broken within the last few days reveals that Nokia plans to get Symbian Belle installed on NFC capable smartphones by the end of 2011. This news about Symbian Belle came directly from the Vice President and Managing Director of the company in India, D Shivakumar

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Sprint to launch more than 5 NFC smartphones by Q1 2012 [Exclusive]

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Sprint to launch more than 5 NFC smartphones by Q1 2012

NFC Rumors has exclusively learned that Sprint is set to launch at least 5 NFC smartphones by quarter one of 2012. Considering that Sprint is the launch partner for Google Wallet, we haven’t seen that many NFC smartphones hit the Now Network as yet. So far, we have a couple of BlackBerry NFC smartphones and the now legendary Google Nexus S to choose from. At this point, the Google Nexus S is the only one of Sprint’s NFC smartphones that will even accommodate Google Wallet. We think it is fair to say that Sprint has had a slower start with NFC smartphones than we would have perhaps imagined back in May. We were surprised when Sprint decided to not get the NFC version of the Samsung Galaxy S II. That’s okay because the pace is about to pick up according to or sources.

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NFC Rumor: T-Mobile to launch 5 more NFC phones this year [Exclusive]

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NFC Rumor: T-Mobile to launch 5 more NFC phones this year

NFC Rumors has exclusively learned that T-Mobile USA has 5 – count them, 5! – more NFC phones that are due to be released before we say goodbye to 2011. This information comes from one of our trusted sources who has inside working knowledge of the T-Mobile roadmap and whereas details of the actual NFC phones may be a little light on the ground, you can take what we do know to the bank.

NFC Rumor Suggests 5 T-Mobile NFC Phones for 2011

Let’s start off with the obvious. The NFC Samsung Galaxy S II, dressed in pink and ready for the party, will launch on T-Mobile before you find yourself singing Auld Lang Syne badly. This is expected and not really going to stun anyone, but we can confirm it will be one of the five NFC phone sets hitting T-Mobile within the next four months.

Next NFC rumor on the block HTC. HTC will be releasing an NFC phone on T-mobile before the end of the year, and it’ll be a Windows Phone 7 device. This device is still a mystery and we are putting out our feelers to see what else we can learn about this mystery NFC phone.

However, it isn’t as if we haven’t heard of any NFC rumor regarding WP7 NFC phones.

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PayPal NFC mobile wallet shaping up in Sweden with Accumulate

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PayPal gearing up for NFC mobile wallet, Accumulate wants run the security detail

If you want a clue about what PayPal is up to in regards to NFC, you need look no further than its new partnership with Swedish firm Accumulate. PayPal is working with Accumulate to add the firm’s security platform, “Mobile Everywhere”, for what Accumulate calls “coming mobile services.” The agreement in place between the two companies is at this time a Swedish-only affair and for Swedish consumers. In viewing what PayPal is planning for Sweden, we can ascertain what the company might have in mind for the rest of the globe when it comes to NFC payments and its NFC mobile wallet.

”The agreement is great news and we look forward to partnering with PayPal and to support the innovative mobile services based on our technology,” says Stefan Hultberg, CEO of Accumulate.

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NFC Fruit Ninja game joins Angry Birds Magic on Nokia NFC phones

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NFC Fruit Ninja game joins Angry Birds Magic and is preinstalled on Nokia NFC phones

NFC gaming is coming of age and that becomes more poignant as Halfbrick Studios releases an NFC version of their hit Fruit Ninja game for Symbian Belle Nokia NFC phones.  Noknok reported back at the end of August that both Angry Birds Magic and NFC Fruit Ninja will come pre-installed on all Symbian Belle Nokia NFC phones. That at the moment includes the Nokia 600, Nokia 700 and Nokia 701 NFC phones. The concept of using NFC to share gaming isn’t new. In fact, even when we go back to the MIT video which showed a day with NFC we saw NFC gaming played on a subway.

However it has taken until 2011 for that dream of NFC-enabled games to hit phones and games like NFC Fruit Ninja are creating a lot of excitement among gamers. Rovio’s Angry Birds Magic NFC game was the first to be announced and was made available to Nokia C7, or Nokia Astound as its known here in the States, owners.

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NFC Rumors, concerning Google Wallet, BlackBerry and a certain OS maker (Exclusive)

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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…

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Could the Nokia 703 be the first NFC Windows Phone?

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Could the Nokia 703 be the first NFC Windows Phone?

Nokia has promised that it will support NFC in all handsets from this point on which includes Windows Phone 7 smartphones. A spy shot of the Nokia 703 Windows Phone 7 (Mango) has surfaced with some specifications coming along for the ride. So, a new Nokia Windows Phone 7 phone should in theory be an NFC capable device. We are starting to get the idea that NFC will be well supported in Windows Phone 7 devices after seeing rumors circulating around the Samsung Omnia W suggest that it too will be an NFC Windows Phone 7 device.

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Samsung Omnia W to have NFC and a 1.4GHz processor (WP7 rumor)

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Samsung Omnia W to have NFC and a 1.4GHz processor Windows Phone 7 rumor

This evening brings an NFC WP7 Rumor that could gain some traction because it has been suggested by SamFirmware that the upcoming Samsung Omnia W will feature NFC support, which was reported by WMPowerUser. SamFirmware has a good track record in Samsung rumors tweeted earlier today that the as yet unannounced Samsung Omnia W Windows Phone 7 smartphone is due to feature NFC, have a 3.7-inch display and skip along on a 1.4GHz processor. This revelation really does fall in to the realm of WP7 rumors and has not been confirmed as yet in anyway but it is in line with other whispers that have circulated about Samsung’s upcoming WP7 Mango smartphone.

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Fujitsu launches F-09c, F-11C and F-10C NFC phones on DoCoMo

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Fujitsu F-09c, F-10C, F-11C waterproof NFC phones with AuthenTec biometric fingerprint sensors hits NTT DoCoMo Japan with a 16.3-megapixel camera

Fujitsu, in partnership with AuthenTec, have released a trio of new NFC phones: the F-09c, F-10C and F-11C. The bevy of NFC phone goodness comes with AuthenTec biometric fingerprint sensors and have debuted on DoCoMo Japan. However, we have seen documentation that suggests that the NFC phones are also heading to Europe after they passed through the European version of the FCC. No word as yet as to whether we could see these NFC phones Stateside, but we do know that the phones include AuthenTec’s AES1750 smart sensor for multiple touch-powered features, including one-touch security and personalization.

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Nokia commits to NFC in all mobile phones from now on

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Nokia commits to NFC in all mobile phones from now on including upcoming WP7 phones

Nokia has installed NFC chips in all of the phones the Finnish handset maker has launched this year – the Nokia C7 / Astound and the Nokia N9. Nokia just this last week also announced the Nokia 600, Nokia 700 and the Nokia 701 which all feature NFC (near field communications). So far, in the new NFC phone market Nokia, and to a lesser extent BlackBerry, have been the biggest manufacturers to embrace near field communications technology in their phones. However, Nokia has been playing with NFC for years and have been involved in multiple use case projects. The company has recently also launched its NFC-Hub website that concentrates on the marketing uses for NFC. This supported the Museum of London in enabling visitors to learn more and hear the sounds of London using NFC phones and NFC tags to provide immersive experiences. Nokia at this point is famed for now including NFC payments secure elements as they want to concentrate on NFC’s other capabilities that include content sharing, content marketing and social NFC.

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Nokia announces three new NFC phones the Nokia 700, Nokia 701 and Nokia 600 all toting Symbian Belle

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Nokia announces three new NFC phones the Nokia 700, Nokia 701 and Nokia 600 all toting Symbian Belle

Nokia today trotted out not one, not two, but three new NFC phones. The Nokia 700, the Nokia 701 and the Nokia 600 are official and are all touting Symbian Belle and are all NFC smartphones. We have covered all of these NFC phones in our rumors over the last couple of months, but it’s great to see them all come to market with a bang. Whereas the specifications hadn’t altered much from the leaked roadmap we reported on a month or so ago, there are certainly more details available starting with the release date. Nokia has said that the NFC phones will be released in the third quarter and we have heard that it could be as soon as the next few days when we get some carrier details. These may be the last days of Symbian and a non-Microsoft Nokia, but it appears they are going out with a bang. So, without further ado let’s get down to the nitty gritty details you love.

Nokia 700 / Nokia Zeta NFC phone

Up until today, we have known the Nokia 700 as the Zeta. Nokia is claiming that the Nokia 700 NFC phone is the world’s most compact monoblock smartphone. With dimensions of only 50 cubic centimeters, weighing 96gm and at 110 x 50.7 x 9.7 mm, it isn’t going to weigh you down or bulge your pockets.

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Something big is coming according to Samsung

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Something big is coming, according to Samsung in its latest teaser videos

Samsung has released two teaser videos that suggest something big is coming and it will be announced at the IFA trade show in Berlin

What we are calling the season of smartphones is getting closer now. Apple, Google and a whole host of OEM manufacturers are getting ready to do battle for the holiday season. Multiple high-end phones are expected to be released between now and November with a glut expected at the end of September and early October. This fall is when Microsoft is also expected to enter the smartphone market proper, although they won’t have any NFC phones until next year. Now Samsung is releasing teaser videos suggesting that “something big is coming.” The videos suggest that whatever is coming, it will be announced on September 1st at the IFA trade show in Berlin, which is just three days after Samsung’s event to launch the Samsung Galaxy S II in the States. The promotional videos show people walking around with glowing objects that suggest that the 7-inch Galaxy Tab could be finally launching and yet there are also scenes where we see what appears to be a glowing phone. The other video simply shows people on a beach and really gives no clues as to what Samsung has in mind, apart from the fact it has an announcement and that the Berlin show is where it intends to share its secrets with the world.

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Nokia N9 NFC phone release date counting down for September 23rd debut

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Nokia N9 NFC phone release date counting down for September 23rd debut

Well it’s official, the beauty known as the MeeGo touting Nokia N9 NFC phone is counting down to a September 23rd release. The countdown clock for the Nokia N9 NFC phone has been started on the Swedish Nokia website, suggesting that the launch will happen at 10 AM. At this time, we have no information to suggest that this launch will be the same for any other markets. However, speculation around the blogosphere assumes that Nokia will want to get the NFC phone out into the wild before Nokia World in late October which is set to exclusively feature Windows Phone 7 devices. If that theory holds true, we may also see some of Nokia’s other NFC phones join the party in short order.

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Australia to get NFC payments within three months, Commonwealth Bank of Australia are heros!

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Australia to get NFC payments within three months with Commonwealth Bank of Australia

Finally, a bank in Australia is going to support NFC payments. Commonwealth Bank of America told ZDNet Australia that it intends to launch a solution within 3 months with no trial. What makes CommBank’s plans to release a mass market NFC payment solution for all customers by mid-October so momentous, is the fact that so many Australian and New Zealand financial institutions have trialled the technology and failed to employ it despite successful trials.

“A highly placed source within CommBank today told ZDNet Australia that the bank intends to skip the trial phase and go straight to market with a case-based option to power up a customer’s mobile handset with NFC.”

NFC MicroSD cases finally get the green light for NFC payments in Australia thanks to Commonwealth Bank

After ANZ Bank decided to not go with DeviceFidelity’s iPhone microSD NFC case, the future looked bleak in Australia that the technology would ever get deployed. What frustrated Australians, and no doubt DeviceFidelity, was that the trial was a massive success and Australians have shown they were ready and waiting for the technology. It is not clear at this time who will be supplying the microSD NFC case solutions but DeviceFidelity is the biggest name in that particular game and it would make sense that they were utilized for this purpose. It appears Commonwealth Bank has taken up the mantle and is now giving its customers what they have asked for and ANZ Bank’s “wait and see” approach may now cost them dearly.

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