News in brief from the NFC world and beyond: New online NFC store • eBay buys hyperlocal ads firm • Connecthings launches reader/writer app • Google’s Groupon rival hits Portland • Chase offers chip and pin in US • Visa and Gap working on real-time mobile discounts • Nokia to transfer Symbian jobs • and a brace of research reports… More
New products
RIM unveils BlackBerry Bold 9900 and 9930 NFC phones
After months of speculation, Research in Motion has formally announced that its new touchscreen BlackBerry Bold smartphones will come with near field communication capabilities. More
UPM adds two new NFC tags
NFC and RFID tag supplier UPM RFID has added two new types of NFC tag to its range... More
SleepTrak uses NFC to monitor and report on sleep disorders
Healthcare technology firm Cypak and New Jersey’s Meridian Health have come together to unveil a tool to monitor potential sleep disorders using discreet NFC-based technology — with more capabilities to come. More
Motorola to introduce first NFC phones next year?
Motorola is rumoured to be introducing two new NFC-enabled phones in the first quarter of 2012, according to DroidLife... More
HTC to launch NFC-enabled phone in third quarter of 2011?
Mobile phone manufacturer HTC plans to launch an NFC-enabled smartphone in the third quarter of 2011, according to Bright Side of News... More
Think&Go introduces NFC shopping engine
The new system combines NFC tags placed on product labels and shelf-edges with a ‘preference engine’ stored on a consumer’s mobile phone so that, for instance, shoppers can be alerted if a food product contains an ingredient they are allergic to or does not meet their pre-set shopping preferences. More
Poken launches NFC social networking and offers platform
The new service lets consumers connect online with people they meet in the real world, receive and share offers and rewards, and collect information from tags and smart posters via either an NFC phone or a low cost NFC-enabled Poken device. More
Verayo hires former PayPal mobile chief for move into NFC security market
Verayo has announced the appointment of Eric Duprat, former general manager of mobile at PayPal, as its chief executive officer as it seeks to bring its ‘silicon biometrics’ technology to market... More
Seibersdorf adds NFC to textiles
The Austrian R&D company’s new textile tags use an antenna that can be woven into fabrics during manufacture, opening up a new market where NFC phones can be used to interact with fashion garments, workwear and a host of other new applications. More
‘We want to make NFC important for gaming worldwide’ says Angry Birds maker
As well as having a new NFC-enabled Angry Birds game pre-installed on all Nokia C7 phones, publisher Rovio aims to integrate NFC into a new Facebook game, its range of Angry Birds plush toys and in-store posters that players can touch to gain in-game benefits. More
NFC news in brief • 18 April 2011
News in brief from the NFC world and beyond: NFC football shirts • EMVCo’s new specs • Contactless business cards • Expo visitors win with NFC • One in five smartphones to have NFC by 2014 • Smartphone users ‘uninterested in location-based services’ • Visa’s Australian NFC trial ends • and more… More
Spanish city to lend NFC phones to tourists
Tourist information centres in the Spanish city of Caceres are to distribute Google Nexus S NFC phones to visitors, to allow them to access museums, receive promotional coupons and obtain information about the city’s sights. More
Bell ID launches EMV Token Manager
Smart card and token management supplier Bell ID has launched EMV Token Manager, a new solution which aims to coordinate and simplify the management of any type or combination of EMV token deployment... More
Nokia launches two new Symbian smartphones — without NFC
Nokia’s new E6 and X7 models do not include NFC chips, the company has told NFC World, confirming concerns that it would retreat from its plan to include the technology in all new Symbian phones. More
NXP and UPM join to provide ‘hassle-free’ NFC tags over the web
NXP Semiconductors and UPM RFID have announced a partnership which they believe will allow customers to order NFC tags as easily as they would office supplies... More
Samsung ready to unveil two new NFC-enabled Bada smartphones
Samsung is planning to release two more NFC-enabled Bada-based smartphones later this year, Badaworld reports... More
Zenius aims to be ‘Microsoft of the NFC world’
The Silicon Valley-based startup has unveiled a hardware-neutral NFC platform that, co-founder John Wiese has told NFC World, will allow developers to write software applications once and then deploy them on multiple types of NFC phone. More
First Data launches NFC TSM
The payments processing giant and NFC TSM specialist SK C&C say their service has been released in time to coincide with a ‘tipping point’ for NFC. More
idOnDemand secures mobile access to corporate data with NFC
Smart identification providers idOnDemand have teamed up with NXP Semiconductors to create a secure, NFC-enabled way for staff to authenticate access to their organisation’s private information and services from mobile devices... More