Mobile Payment Magazine

Android Gingerbread NFC is Only One-Way Communication

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It turns out that the NFC capabilities in Android Gingerbread phones isn’t quite everything we thought it would be. According to a blog post by Jaroslav Stekl on the website Android Police, the NFC with Gingerbread is currently only one-way. It can read data, but not transmit. He adds that the chip supports two-way communication, but Gingerbread does not.

Clearly there’s some extra hype surrounding the  Google CEO’s Eric Schmidt’s mention of Gingerbread and NFC during the Web 2.0 Summit, which came around the same time as ATT, T-Mobile, and Verizon’s official announcement about their partnership in the Isis Mobile Payment Network. [Read more…]

Samsung Announces New NFC Chip with Flash Memory

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Samsung has announced a new NFC chip with flash memory, adding to the momentum around Near Field Communication (NFC) technology that will enable point-of-sale payments via mobile phone.

NFC is a short-range (up to 10cm or 4inches), high frequency wireless communication technology which allows devices such as smart phones to collect or transmit data to another NFC-enabled device without manual configuration to identify devices. In addition, NFC chip can play a role as a contactless smartcard in use for public transportation payments for bus and subway fares and mobile banking payments. It can also read RFID tags in retail stores or on outdoor billboards for convenient on-the-spot data access.

The announcement comes at about the same time as Google announced the Samsung-made Nexus S — the first phone to use the new Android OS called Gingerbread. The camera comes with built-in NFC technology, as well as a front and rear-facing camera to enable video conferencing.

“NFC is recognized throughout the industry as an easy and effective way to transmit encrypted information between mobile devices or between mobile devices and other stationary NFC-enabled devices such as kiosks,” said Tae-Hoon Kim, vice president of DDI and C&M marketing, System LSI Division, Samsung Electronics. “As momentum builds for adoption of NFC technology in next-generation/ upcoming smart phones, we look forward to securing a competitive footing in NFC-based solutions with our new NFC technology, offering powerful mobile characteristics such as low power design and advanced RF sensitivity.”

The Samsung NFC chip will be ready for mass production in Q1 2011.

Samsung is well established in releasing Android smartphones, and with Android smartphones now holding a 23% market share, Samsung seems well positioned to ride the wave toward NFC mobile payments.

LG Star 4-inch Smartphone Details Leaked (Photos)

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LG Star 4-Inch Smartphone

Leaked "LG Star" smartphone. Image from: AndroidForums.com

Rumors and some leaked photos of the new LG “Star” 4-inch smartphone reveal that the phone has a screen resolution of 800×480, an 8 mp front-facing camera, the Tegra 2 processor, 1080p video,  and a 15000mAh battery, and will run stock gingerbread.

This is not necessarily the official name of the phone or official spec’s.

Source: Android Forum.

Top Smartphones for the Holidays

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Smartphone reviews and top smartphone models available by carrier. If you’re upgrading your smartphone for 2011, here’s a list of the hottest smart phones for the holidays.

Aaccording to research firm Gartner, Android made up 25.5 percent of smartphone sales to end users in the third quarter, up from 3.5 percent in the year-ago quarter. Another theme is the emergence of the tablet as a hot device for the holidays. Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPad is currently dominating the market, and is now available at both AT&T Mobility (NYSE:T) and Verizon Wireless (NYSE:VZ). However, Samsung plans to make a big push as well, and will have its Android-powered GalaxyTab available from all four Tier 1 carriers this season. Finally, Microsoft also hopes its Windows Phone 7 platform catches fire amid the crowded market.

Report Shows Majority of Top 100 Financial Institutions Offer Mobile Banking

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2010 Mobile Banking ReportA recent report covering mobile banking reveals that over half of the Top 100 financial institutions offer mobile banking services as of September 2010.

Surprisingly, this activity is not concentrated among the Top 25 or even Top 50, with many smaller banks actively utilizing vendor capabilities to offer mobile solutions.  Of the Top 100, nearly 40% offer access via mobile web, while 32% offer SMS banking and/or alerts and 32% offer apps.

Apple’s iOS remains the main platform for launching application-based banking, but financial institutions have realized the importance of other operating system leaders.  Sixteen percent and fourteen percent now offer a RIM Blackberry or Google Android application, respectively.

A detailed evaluation of features available by channel also reveals that mobile web and app channels often provide virtually the same capabilities.  Balance inquiries and transaction history are standard, but new features help banks differentiate themselves from competition.  Seventeen percent offer GPS-enabled branch/ATM locators, and thirty-five percent allow mobile billpay (most require pre-entered payees, but not all).

Additionally, several banks are expanding their offerings to include mobile deposit capture, P2P, offers and loyalty programs, and rewards management and redemption.

The  study, released by First Annapolis, covers  mobile banking and payments capability and activity among the Top 100 U.S. financial institutions (ranked by deposits).  The report is the first data-intensive study of its kind and provides unique insights into how banks currently leverage mobile as a new channel to reach consumers.

Source: First Annapolis

Google to Integrate NFC in “Gingerbread” Android OS

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Google CEO Eric Schmidt has indicated that the coming “Gingerbread” Android release will have integrated Near Field Communication (NFC), which will allow for interaction with hardware devices, and may well lead to a revolution in proximity payment processing via mobile phones, and a new boom of mobile payment startup companies. Schmidt made his comments during the Web 2.0 conference in San Francisco earlier today.

Using “tap and pay,” says Schmidt, the theory is that you will be able to walk into stores and do commerce, and eventually replace credit cards.

“Ultimately the technology is personal, secure, and an aggregating technology,” according to Schmidt. Google would expect to partner with payment processors, and the credit card industry believes the losses will be a lot less than with standard credit cards, he added.

View the full interview here: