Samsung has begun shipping the first units of its Galaxy S II smartphone but, outside Korea, it looks as though only the non-NFC version will be available — for now. More
Samsung Galaxy S II with NFC to begin shipping “later this year”
Orange
Vodafone and EPT launch NFC bus ticketing service in Murcia, Spain
“This is a new opportunity to put technology at the service of citizens, improve public transport and encourage its use,” says the region’s minister of public works. More
Orange launches NFC payments trial in Poland
The mobile phone operator starts delivering on its promise to roll out NFC throughout Europe during 2011, saying opportunities are “virtually limitless”. More
Spain’s leading mobile operators sign NFC collaboration deal
Orange, Telefónica Movistar and Vodafone are to work together to “achieve maximum compatibility and uniformity in both the customer experience and the technology used in order to simplify the adoption of NFC services by customers, other companies and technology providers.” More
Telefónica launches O2 Money in Ireland
Telefónica O2 Ireland has launched a new prepaid money card, ‘O2 Money’, marking an expansion by the mobile network operator into the Irish financial services market... More
Bordeaux begins NFC city services trial
A new public trial of NFC-enabled mobile phones, contactless cards and contactless USB keys has been launched in the French city of Bordeaux... More
Deutsche Telekom details T-Mobile NFC rollout plans
NFC services will begin in Germany and Poland in 2011 and in the US, the Netherlands and the Czech Republic in 2012. In Germany, the operator looks set to offer its own payments service but in other countries it will partner with other operators or with banks, depending on market conditions. More
World’s leading mobile operators commit to NFC — with the SIM as the secure element and the operators in control
The GSMA has issued a statement outlining a commitment by leading global mobile network operators — many of whom have not previously been involved in NFC — to launch commercial services in 2012. “The operator community is focused on driving the standardised deployment of mobile NFC, using the SIM as the secure element to provide authentication, security and portability,” says the announcement. More
MasterCard joins Visa Europe in adopting Wireless Dynamics’ iPhone NFC device
MasterCard has revealed that, like Visa Europe, it is working with Canadian firm Wireless Dynamics to bring its payments services to iPhone users... More
Majority of Britons ‘uncomfortable’ with mobile device payments
More than half of UK consumers are distinctly uncomfortable with the idea of contactless payments made through their mobile device, according to new research... More
Orange UK launches NFC ready ‘Orange Cash’ account
Orange UK has launched Orange Cash, a prepaid account that can be used at any MasterCard accepting merchant equipped with a contactless point-of-sale terminal... More
European telco CEOs agree to work together on NFC standards
Five of Europe’s largest mobile network operators — Orange UK, Deutsche Telekom, France Telecom Orange, Vodafone and Telecom Italia — have agreed to work together to develop NFC standards, FierceWireless reports, “in hopes it will accelerate the technology’s prominence and make it easier for partners such as banks and retailers to deploy”:... More
UK to get five ‘exclusively NFC payment-based towns’ by end 2011
The UK’s mobile network operators are working on plans to establish five exclusively NFC payment-based towns, where all card accepting merchants would be equipped with contactless point of sale terminals, Charlotte Blanchard, director of products and services at mobile network operator 3, has told IT PRO... More
NXP and Continental demonstrate concept car with embedded NFC
NXP is showcasing a concept car developed by automotive supplier Continental at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona this week... More
Morpho announces NFC key fob that connects to any WiFi phone
A new NFC-enabled key fob has been developed by Morpho and Simlink, hot on the heels of a white paper from German car manufacturer BMW outlining its vision for an NFC-enabled ‘car key of the future’... More
Orange to offer Samsung Wave 578 NFC across Europe — but not in the UK
“With the availability of new NFC-enabled devices from Samsung, and many more from our other handset partners to come in 2011, we are moving closer to a world in which we believe mobile contactless services will soon become the norm,” says Orange’s EVP of mobile services. More
O2 UK commits to commercial NFC launch in second half of 2011
“My ambition would be to engage a very substantial proportion of the O2 customer base,” James Le Brocq, head of O2 UK’s financial services division, told NFC World, as the mobile network operator confirmed plans to launch commercial NFC services in the UK later this year. More
Belgian banks and mobile operators to launch SMS and NFC mobile payments service in 2011
Belgium’s mobile network operators have joined forces with the country’s financial sector with the aim of introducing SMS and NFC based mobile payments by the end of 2011... More
French operators commit to deploying 1m NFC phones in 2011
France’s mobile network operators have formally committed to deploying one million NFC phones in 2011, under the Cityzi brand name... More
Orange and Barclaycard set date for UK’s first commercial NFC service
British consumers will be able to use NFC phones to make payments at stores across the country from the second quarter of this year, Barclaycard and Everything Everywhere have announced. More
