Near Field Communication

10 'Near Field Communication' stories June 2012 - March 2016

Swatch thinks it can’t compete with the Apple Watch, sticking to low-end smartwatches for now

Ben Lovejoy Mar 10 2016 - 6:16 am PT

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Swatch seems to have acknowledged the difficulty of competing with the Apple Watch, announcing today that it would be focusing its smartwatch efforts on its low-cost plastic models before making a move into its more expensive brands. The WSJ notes that the Swatch Group owns Omega, Longines and Tissot.

Swatch Group AG on Thursday said it would focus its smartwatch technology on its plastic Swatch brand in response to devices launched by Apple Inc. and others before considering installing it in its pricier brands […]

The Swatch Bellamy, a version of its eponymous plastic Swatch watch that uses near-field communication technology, sells for €80 ($88) to €100.

This is hardly a smartwatch at all, comprising a dumb watch with an NFC payment chip embedded beneath the dial. The company plans to make further low-end smartwatch launches in the U.S., Brazil and Switzerland.

“We are not talking about competing with Apple,” said the colorful Mr. Hayek, who was dressed in a plaid shirt and scarf, occasionally donned a pair of Swatch sunglasses and puffed on a big cigar during the news conference. “They are consumer-electronics people and we don’t want to get into that sector.”

Swatch hasn’t exactly set out to make friends with Apple. It’s believed that the company’s trademarking of ‘iSwatch’ prevented Apple using iWatch as the name for the Apple Watch, and the company last year trademarked ‘One More Thing.’

Samsung reportedly planning Apple Pay rival compatible with 100% of cards & terminals

Ben Lovejoy Dec 16 2014 - 7:22 am PT

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[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bw1l149Rb1k]

On the same day that Apple Pay reached a sign-up rate of 90% of US bank cards by transaction volume, Samsung is reportedly planning to launch a rival mobile payment service that would work with 100% of cards and payment terminals on day one.

Re/code suggests that the company is in talks with LoopPay, a startup which describes itself as “the most accepted mobile wallet on the planet.” Instead of using an NFC chip for contactless payment, LoopPay transmits a magnetic signal which simulates the swiping of the magnetic strip on a card. That means it works with all cards and all payment terminals, contactless or not …
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Square chip-and-signature cardreaders available for pre-order ahead of next year’s changes

Ben Lovejoy Nov 12 2014 - 6:25 am PT

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It may not yet be practical for micro businesses to fork out for the expensive NFC payment terminals needed for Apple Pay, but Square is ensuring that they will at least be all set for the shift to chip-and-signature cards next year.

As of October 2015, any retailer without a chip-and-signature reader will bear the risk of fraudulent transactions, giving them a strong incentive to update their cardreaders. Fortunately, with Square, it’s not an expensive shift: the iPhone reader will cost just $29 – the cheapest on the market – while the Chip Card Accessory for the Square Stand iPad terminal costs $39.

It will be interesting to see whether Square is later able to develop a low-cost NFC reader to support contactless cards and Apple Pay, but in the meantime both chip-and-signature products are available for pre-order now, with delivery early next year.

WIRED now also saying iPhone 6 will have NFC and mobile payments

Zac Hall Aug 28 2014 - 6:39 am PT

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Apple iPhone 6 (Mockup) 43

WIRED is the latest publication to report that the soon-to-be-announced iPhone 6 will be accompanied by a new mobile payment system using NFC technology.

The company’s next iPhone will feature its own payment platform, sources familiar with the matter told WIRED. In fact, that platform will be one of the hallmark features of the device when it’s unveiled on September 9. We’re told the solution will involve NFC.

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Leaked iPhone 6 schematic doesn’t show 1GB of RAM, but it may indicate NFC on the way

Benjamin Mayo Aug 18 2014 - 9:15 am PT

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A set of schematics by GeekBar on Weibo have been making the rounds today, claiming to show both NFC support for the iPhone 6 as well as ‘confirmation’ that the device will feature just 1 GB of RAM, like the iPhone 5s.

Although the site focuses on the 1 GB description at the top of the image, it turns out that the schematic is actually a design for a NAND flash component (a storage chip, the same memory used in iPhones and other mobile devices for storing user data like music and photos) rather than RAM for the SoC.

Todd DeRego, a SoC memory engineer, says that the schematic does not have enough signals for it to be a DRAM interface. He also points out that the AP_TO_NAND text refers to an application processor to NAND link, indicating this memory is actually used as a way of storing the booting firmware and not the main memory of the iPhone. Although the RAM claim is almost certainly untrue, the NFC claim cannot be so easily dismissed.

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Apple discussing iPhone payments service with high-profile retail brands

Mark Gurman May 29 2014 - 4:52 pm PT

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Apple wants to replace yet another daily tool with your iPhone: your wallet.

Executives from the Cupertino-based technology company have begun discussions with directors from retail store chains about a mobile payments service, according to a source with direct knowledge of the talks. Previous reports indicated that Apple is exploring new payments services through discussions with executives from existing payments companies. These latest mobile payments-related discussions, which have occurred with retail store brands such as those that sell luxury clothing and premium goods, have taken place over the past couple of months, according to the source. The source declined to be named and requested that the identities of the companies talking to Apple not be published.

The Apple mobile payments service would be integrated into iOS Devices such as the iPhone and would be a comprehensive solution that would allow an iPhone user to leverage their device as a form of payment in retail stores. Based on information from various people briefed on the matter, the service would tie directly to iTunes accounts. Apple Senior Vice President Eddy Cue noted last night that Apple has 800 million iTunes accounts with credit cards, and that this arsenal opens up the door for many future products and services. Apple CEO Tim Cook previously hinted that the iPhone’s Touch ID fingerprint identity sensor could someday be leveraged for mobile payment purposes beyond the existing iTunes and App Stores…

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iBeacon briefing: What is it, and what can we expect from it?

Ben Lovejoy Sep 27 2013 - 8:19 am PT

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With Apple’s iBeacon technology starting to see some real-world applications, we thought this would be a good time to take a brief look at what it is and what we might expect from it in future …
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Incipio and AT&T team up to launch NFC-enabled ISIS iPhone wallet

Jordan Kahn Jan 8 2013 - 1:28 pm PT

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Cashwrap-Incipio

Live from the CES show floor at the Las Vegas convention center, accessory maker Incipio just finished showing us their new product for iPhone. Known as a Cashwrap, and landing in March 2013, it is an NFC-enabled iPhone case that allows iOS users to take advantage of the ISIS Mobile Wallet service that officially launched in October on AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon for NFC-enabled Android devices in select regions. Incipio also informed us that it has teamed up with AT&T on the project—making Cashwrap AT&T’s ISIS solution for iPhone coming.

The product will launch for iPhone 4 and 4S initially and will be available for sale through AT&T brick-and-mortar locations for $60 to $70. Incipio’s full press release and a short video of the Cashwrap up close and personal from the CES show floor below:
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Former Apple Hardware guru leads the charge at Square

Élyse Betters Jul 9 2012 - 7:17 am PT

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CNN Money published a report today detailing how companies and startups want folks to ditch cash and use their smartphone to pay for everything, but a little nugget about Square’s upcoming hardware plans seemed the most noteworthy:

Now Square is planning to expand aggressively into yet another area: hardware. Earlier this year it hired Jesse Dorogusker, an Apple refugee who led the team that built headphones, docking stations, and other peripherals for iOS devices, as its vice president of hardware. “We are going to be doing a lot of hardware,” says Keith Rabois, chief operating officer of Square and a former executive at PayPal and LinkedIn (LNKD). Rabois cagily declines to elaborate, but consider this: In a pilot program the company recently began installing a software and hardware bundle that includes Square-powered iPads and iPhones in New York City taxicabs. It serves as a payment mechanism and replacement for those annoying TV screens that are common in the backseats of cabs. People with knowledge of Square’s plans say that in the future the company hopes to develop similar bundles for other vertical markets. It also plans to build different versions of its reader as it expands overseas. (Did we mention that Dorsey is ambitious?)

Taken together, Square’s products begin to offer a glimpse of what a utopia for buyers and sellers could look like: You’re in a new city and feel like sushi, so you fire up your phone and Square’s software offers you a series of suggestions that reflect your tastes; a nearby eatery offering you 20% off your bill catches your eye. Once you’re at the sushi bar, your phone talks wirelessly to the restaurant’s register and settles your bill, including the discount. And the restaurant collects a slew of information about you, which it can use to market to you in the future.

Dorogusker served as Apple’s former director of engineering for iOS accessories for over eight years, and he holds a few patents under his belt. One of his notable hardware inventions includes an iPod/iPhone-integrated personal fitness system capable of monitoring personal fitness data and sharing exercisers’ through the Web.

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New iPhone prototypes have NFC chips and antenna

Seth Weintraub Jun 25 2012 - 3:00 am PT

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We have previously been able to pull data from PreEVT iPhone 5,1 and iPhone 5,2 prototypes codenamed “N41AP (5,1)” and “N42AP (5,2)”, which lead us to believe that the new iPhone will have a bigger 1,136-by-640 display. We also detailed a lot of the hardware (here), but we forgot one very important bit of information. Further investigation into this hardware code dump leads us to believe that these iPhones also have Near Field Communication controllers directly connected to the Power Management Unit.

The implications are obviously monstrous. With the recently announced PassBook application (which we detailed prior to its announcement while speculating about an NFC tie-in), Apple will be set to compete with Google Wallet and Microsoft’s similar service that unveiled last week. Apple could tie in with a payment processor like Citibank’s PayPass system for credit card transactions—or it could become a payment processor of sorts with its hundreds of millions of credit cards already on file at iTunes.

NFC would also allow iPhone users a quick and easy way to share files from one iOS device to another.

Jim Peters, CTO of SITA, agrees that NFC is coming to iPhone and retailers should prepare…

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