NTT DoCoMo, KDDI and SoftBank have created the “Japan Mobile NFC Consortium,” which will help the three carriers coordinate and adopt an international NFC standard. Currently, all three operators offer an NFC service dubbed Osaifu-Keitai (wallet phone) which uses a contactless-IC smartcard that’s called FeliCa. Unfortunately, the technology doesn’t work overseas where other carriers use Type A or Type B NFC standards, which means Osaifu-Ketai won’t function properly for NTT DoCoMo, KDDI or SoftBank customers hoping to use their phones for mobile payments overseas. The three carriers hope they can work with handset makers and vendors to encourage the adoption of Type A and Type B NFC standards. The consortium also aims to “create an environment in Japan where service providers can offer efficient, low-cost NFC services based on common standards and rules adopted by the three mobile operators.” The full press release follows after the break.

DOCOMO, KDDI and SOFTBANK Establish Consortium to Promote NFC Services Compatible with Multiple International Standards Partnerships

TOKYO, JAPAN, December 21, 2011 — NTT DOCOMO, INC., KDDI CORPORATION and SOFTBANK MOBILE Corp. announced today their establishment of Japan Mobile NFC Consortium to coordinate the adoption of multiple international standards for near field communication (NFC) technologies incorporated in their mobile devices and services.

Japan’s three mobile operators already offer Osaifu- Keitai™ (wallet phone) mobile services based on the contactless-IC smartcard called FeliCa®. Overseas, however, mobile operators and service providers are increasingly adopting Type A and Type B standards to develop growing markets for NFC services. In view of this worldwide trend, the consortium intends to work with mobile industry groups in Japan, including service suppliers and handset manufacturers, to incorporate compatibility with the Type A and B standards in the Japanese mobile ecosystem.

By ensuring compatibility with multiple NFC standards, the consortium aims to:

- Free mobile users in Japan, both residents and international travelers, from having to concern themselves about different NFC service standards.

- Create an environment in Japan where service providers can offer efficient, low-cost NFC services based on common standards and rules adopted by the three mobile operators.

Spanish wireless carrier Telefónica Digital announced Wednesday that it has partnered with Research In Motion on a new NFC-based mobile wallet pilot in Spain. The carrier provided 350 of its employees with NFC-enabled BlackBerry smartphones that are pre-loaded with its Telefónica Wallet application. The phones can be used to purchase goods and services at local retailers, or to open doors at the Telefónica’s headquarters with a simple tap to another NFC sensor. Read on for more.

“We have chosen the BlackBerry solution for this pilot because of the security that the platform brings,” Telefónica Digital chief operating officer Julio Linares said. “RIM’s participation has been important for this pilot project, and we are now planning to extend the project to more and more Telefónica employees around the world.”

Telefónica Digital chief executive officer Matthew Key commented further: “Trials such as this are important to ensuring a great customer experience and we look forward to seeing the launch of commercial wallet services in several markets next year.”

Both Google and ISIS, a collaborative between major U.S. wireless carriers and credit card companies, are working on similar initiatives in the United States. Telefónica Digital’s press release follows below.

Telefónica Digital and RIM announce NFC payments with Blackberry smartphones

• Telefónica Digital has developed a version of its Wallet for NFC enabled BlackBerry smartphones

• To be deployed first in Spain as part Telefónica pilot, that will roll out in several internationals markets in 2012

Waterloo ON and Madrid, Spain, 23rd of November- Telefónica Digital and Research In Motion (NASDAQ: RIMM; TSX: RIM) today announced a pilot programm of the Telefónica wallet for BlackBerry® smartphones.

In collaboration with local banks and retailers Telefónica will roll out the Telefónica Wallet for BlackBerry to 350 employees at its headquarters in Distrito Telefónica, Spain. Those taking part in the trial will be able to pay in a simple, easy, safe and convenient way by simply tapping their BlackBerry smartphones against a reader. Employees that are part of the NFC pilot project will also be able use their BlackBerry smartphone (in lieu of a security card) to gain physical access to the Telefónica headquarters office.

The Telefónica Wallet for BlackBerry currently supports the following NFC-enabled smartphones: BlackBerry® BoldTM 9900, BlackBerry® CurveTM 9360 and BlackBerry® CurveTM 9380, all of which run the new BlackBerry® 7 operating system.

According to Julio Linares, COO from Telefónica, S.A, “We have chosen the BlackBerry solution for this pilot because of the security that the platform brings.” He continued: “RIM’s participation has been important for this pilot project, and we are now planning to extend the project to more and more Telefónica employees around the world”.

“We are getting ever closer to the point where our customers will be able to take the contents of their wallets and put them on their mobiles,” said Matthew Key, Chairman & CEO Telefonica Digital. “Trials such as this are important to ensuring a great customer experience and we look forward to seeing the launch of commercial wallet services in several markets next year.”

“RIM is committed to supporting the advancement of NFC and its many applications in the market,” explained Jim Balsillie, Co-CEO at RIM. “We have a strong partnership with Telefónica Group and we are very proud to participate in this important pilot, which allows people to use their BlackBerry smartphone in place of separate physical cards for mobile payments and building access.”

Registro Mercantil Provincia de Madrid, Tomo 12.534, Folio 21, Hoja M-6164, Inscripción 1359a, del Libro de Sociedades, CIF A-28/015865. Sede Social: Gran Vía 28, 28013 Madrid (España).The Telefónica Wallet for BlackBerry makes use of SIM-based NFC capabilities, offering a simple interface for managing cards. The application replicates a physical wallet, showing the different cards available to the user. Once the user has selected a card, they are offered a range of options including making transactions, getting account balances and receiving confirmations from the bank.

Additional partners participating in the pilot include banking and financial institutions, retail and food stores, gas stations and others.

BlackBerry smartphones offer a secure environment for NFC payments. The BlackBerry Bold 9900 and Curve 9360 smartphones have already received certification for NFC payments and are compatible with the UICC/SWP protocol which, when used with Telefónica SIM cards, provides a secure platform for NFC use.

Market research firm In-Stat released a report on Monday that suggests NFC chip shipments will grow dramatically during the next several years as an increasing number of mobile devices adopt near-field communications (NFC) technology. In-Stat said NFC chip shipments will surpass 1.2 billion units by 2015, the same year the technology is expected to reach a 30% global penetration. “As the costs of NFC chips decline, and NFC radios are combined with other chip functions, the cost to integrate NFC into handsets will be outweighed by the benefits,” In-Stat research director Allen Nogee said. “The growth of combo chips will also allow NFC radios to piggyback on technology that already has significant penetration in the market. For example, Bluetooth radios, which currently have 100% market penetration, can be integrated with NFC radios, making the choice to include NFC easy for OEMs.” Read on for more.

The adoption of NFC for mobile payments has been slow to catch on in the United States. Sprint currently offers the only handset capable of making mobile purchases with Google Wallet, the Nexus S 4G, but Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile are hoping the ISIS initiative will help drive adoption in the near future. In-Stat said the NFC market is moving away from mobile payments and towards marketing uses, however, where retailers might be able to embed the technology into posters and other advertisements.

There are plenty of other uses for NFC, too. Google recently introduced a new “Android Beam” feature of Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich that will allow users to share content, such as games, pictures or other media, by tapping one phone to another. In-Stat’s press release follows below.

NFC Chip Shipments to Surpass 1.2 Billion by 2015, Says In-Stat

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., October 24, 2011—As the number of mobile payment users grows to over 375 million in 2015, the demand for devices with near field communications (NFC), the underlying communications technology behind many mobile payment solutions, grows as well.  New research from In-Stat (www.in-stat.com) forecasts that adoption of this technology will push global annual shipments of NFC chips to over 1.2 billion by 2015.

NFC is a set of technologies that supports communications between two devices in close proximity to each other. An NFC link is very quick to set up, enabling small amounts of data to be exchanged over short distances.  This capability is unique compared to other wireless technologies, it and makes NFC an ideal solution where quick exchange of small amounts of data is paramount to quality user experiences such as mobile payments.

“As the costs of NFC chips decline, and NFC radios are combined with other chip functions, the cost to integrate NFC into handsets will be outweighed by the benefits,” says Allen Nogee, Research Director. “The growth of combo chips will also allow NFC radios to piggyback on technology that already has significant penetration in the market. For example, Bluetooth radios, which currently have 100% market penetration, can be integrated with NFC radios, making the choice to include NFC easy for OEMs.”

Recent research findings include:

• Today, the focus of the NFC market is shifting from payment applications that can be enabled by NFC, to marketing applications. With this focus shift, we expect retailers to begin pilot programs in the latter part of 2011 and into 2012 that incorporate smart posters into their signage and outdoor advertising strategies.
• NFC will reach 30% global penetration by 2015
• Global annual shipments of NFC chips will grow at a CAGR of 129% over the forecast period.
• New In-Stat research,NFC Chips and Tags: Worldwide Market Analysis and Forecast (#IN1105140SI) provides insights into the market for NFC devices and components. It compares and contrasts NFC with other complementary and competitive technologies and looks at market drivers, including mobile payments, and market barriers.

New In-Stat research, NFC Chips and Tags: Worldwide Market Analysis and Forecast (#IN1105140SI) provides insights into the market for NFC devices and components. It compares and contrasts NFC with other complementary and competitive technologies and looks at market drivers, including mobile payments, and market barriers.

Forecasts include:

• NFC chip and tag shipments
• Mobile handsets shipping with NFC chips
• NFC chip shipments for readers
• NFC-enabled infrastructure
• NFC tag shipments for smart posters and marketing
• Regional analysis includes Asia Pacific, Europe, and Americas
• Vendor profiles include Broadcom, Inside Secure, NXP Semiconductors, Renesas Electronics, Samsung Semiconductor, and STMicroelectronics

New Jersey Transit will soon introduce limited support for Google’s NFC-based mobile payment system, Bloomberg Businessweek reported on Wednesday. Google Wallet is currently only available on one handset, Sprint’s Nexus S 4G, and supports a handful of retailers including Foot Locker, Macy’s, Jamba Juice, Walgreens and Subway. Commuters will be able to use the handset to quickly purchase tickets in a tap-and-go fashion at New York Penn Station, Newark Liberty International Airport Rail Station and several bus lines including the 120, 87, 81, 80, 43, 6 and 126. “Transit is the fastest way to accelerate adoption and reach usage density in major urban centers by habituating the behavior of tapping and paying with phones,” Google vice president of commerce Stephanie Tilenius said. 

Read

Broadcom on Monday announced the BCM2079x family of NFC chips which it hopes will spur the mass adoption of NFC. The 40nm-based chips are smaller and are reportedly the most power efficient solution currently available to device makers. Broadcom said the products use 40% fewer components on a 40% smaller surface area and consume 90% less power than competing models. The chips also support a new technology called “Maestro middleware” that allows developers to create NFC apps with support for Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. “Broadcom is committed to making NFC as ubiquitous as Bluetooth and Wi-Fi are today,” Broadcom vice president and general manager Craig Ochikubo said. “These solutions provide the features and performance that enable disruptive innovation that will reshape consumer experience.” Read on for Broadcom’s full press release.

Broadcom Introduces First NFC Chips in 40 NM to Drive Next Generation of Mobile Payments and Consumer Electronic Connectivity

Industry’s Smallest and Most Power Efficient NFC Solution with Seamless Connectivity to Bluetooth and Wi-Fi Opens Doors for Next Evolution of Wireless Innovation

News Highlights
New BCM2079x solutions are the industry’s first near field communications (NFC) chips manufactured in 40 nm CMOS process for smaller size and the industry’s lowest power consumption
Supports multiple embedded secure elements and/or SIM cards for contactless payment and secure applications.
Enables simplified connectivity with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth for new innovations in device-to-device data/video transfer, pairing and connections

BEIJING, Sept. 26, 2011 – P&T Expo Comm – Broadcom Corporation (Nasdaq: BRCM), a global innovation leader in semiconductor solutions for wired and wireless communications, today unveiled a new family of NFC chips designed to drive the mass deployment of NFC in consumer electronics devices. With a powerful combination of power, size and functional requirements, the new chips provide the advanced capabilities required by OEMs to ignite NFC adoption in consumer electronics. Visit Broadcom.com for more news from the show.

Manufactured in 40 nm CMOS technology, the new Broadcom® BCM2079x family slashes power consumption by more than 90 percent, uses 40 percent fewer components and has a 40 percent smaller board area, making it the smallest and most power efficient NFC solution on the market. The NFC controllers are platform agnostic with support for multiple secure elements or SIM cards – or both at the same time. In addition, Broadcom’s advanced MaestroTM middleware allows new NFC applications to utilize Bluetooth and Wi-Fi capabilities in the device to spur new innovations in user interface and media sharing.

An accelerated adoption of NFC could transform the use of smartphones, advancing beyond contactless mobile payments and ticketing to enable radically simplified connectivity between the handset and other devices like Bluetooth headsets and Wi-Fi-enabled digital televisions. The proliferation of NFC has the ability to expand the usefulness of smartphones and inspire a range of new applications built on the ability to create simple, secure connections between devices and enable services with a touch of the phone.

Technology Advantages:

Reduces power consumption:

o Low power target detection mode, which leverages Broadcom’s innovative low-power techniques, reduces polling power consumption by more than 90 percent for longer battery life
o Support for field power harvesting allows the chip to draw energy from the environment so it can support transactions even if the phone battery has expired

Reduces board space requirements and design complexity:
o Industry’s smallest size chip integrates more external components, reducing total solution bill of materials (BOM) costs
o Easily pairs with Broadcom’s InConcert® BCM4330 Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and FM combo chip for comprehensive connectivity solution
o Complete Broadcom software stack including MaestroTM middleware rounds out end-to-end solution for reduced design complexity, creative connectivity options and faster time to market

Provides support and flexibility for all business models and future wireless innovation:
o Only NFC controller to integrate transaction-based Application ID (AID) routing for simultaneous support of multiple secure elements (both SIM and non-SIM) within a single device
o Multiple SWP (single wire protocol) interfaces allow for standards-based SIM and embedded secure element integration
o Broadcom is also working closely with the NFC Forum to define and drive standards to ensure interoperability with other NFC devices

Craig Ochikubo, VP and GM, Wireless Personal Area Networks, Broadcom Corporation
“Broadcom is committed to making NFC as ubiquitous as Bluetooth and Wi-Fi are today. These solutions provide the features and performance that enable disruptive innovation that will reshape the mobile consumer experience. Our leadership and proficiency in wireless connectivity influenced the architecture of these new chips to meet the performance required by OEMs, allowing them to more easily add NFC to their designs.”

Visa is accelerating its efforts to dominate the mobile payment space, Reuters reported on Monday. Visa is no stranger to mobile payments. It began trialing an iPhone NFC payment solution in Europe early this year, has plans to work with Samsung on a system for the 2012 Olympics, and recently announced that it has partnered with ISIS for the development of a mobile payment network in the United States. “As mobile payments and other chip-based emerging technologies are poised to take off in the coming years, we are taking steps today to create a commercial framework that will support growth opportunities,” Visa’s global head of product Jim McCarty told Reuters.

Read

141.1 million people around the world will make mobile payments this year, a 38.2% increase from last year, Gartner said in a new report issued on Friday. Global mobile payment volume is expected to hit $86.1 billion in 2011, up 75.9% from the $48.9 billion recorded last year. Gartner says mobile payments are not growing as fast as originally projected due to slower than expected uptake in developing countries. In addition, the “complexity of the [NFC]” service model has impeded its ability to takeoff in developed countries. “The biggest hurdle is the need to change user behavior by convincing consumers to pay with mobile phones instead of cash and cards,” Gartner research director Sandy Shen said, noting that mass market adoption of near-field communications (NFC) is at least four years away. Mobile payments will be driven by prepaid top-ups and money transfers, the research firm said. “Thanks to the success of mobile application stores, such as Apple’s App Store, and the efforts in driving mobile sales by major retailers, such as Amazon and eBay, merchandise purchases far outweigh other use cases in developed markets, which include North America and Western Europe,” Shen said. “We predict that in 2011, merchandise purchases will account for 90 percent and 77 percent of all transactions in North America and Western Europe, respectively.” Read on for the full press release.

Gartner Says Worldwide Mobile Payment Users to Reach 141 Million in 2011

Mobile Payments in Developing Markets Growing Slower Than Expected

Worldwide mobile payment users will surpass 141.1 million in 2011, a 38.2 percent increase from 2010, when mobile payment users reached 102.1 million, according to Gartner, Inc. Worldwide mobile payment volume is forecast to total $86.1 billion, up 75.9 percent from 2010 volume of $48.9 billion.

Despite these strong growth projections, Gartner analysts said the mobile payment market is growing slower than expected.

“In developing markets, despite favorable conditions for mobile payment, growth is not as strong as was anticipated. Many service providers are yet to adapt their strategies to local requirements, and success models from Kenya and the Philippines are unlikely to be translated to other markets,” said Sandy Shen, research director at Gartner. While developing markets have favorable conditions for mobile payments, such as high penetration of mobile devices and low banking penetration, this is no guarantee of success, unless service providers adapt their strategies to local market requirements.”

“In developed markets, companies are trumpeting the prospects of Near Field Communication (NFC) without realizing the complexity of the service model. We believe mass market adoption of NFC payments is at least four years away,” Ms. Shen said. “The biggest hurdle is the need to change user behavior by convincing consumers to pay with mobile phones instead of cash and cards.”

Gartner expects Short Message Service (SMS) and Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) to remain the dominant access technologies in developing markets due to the constraints of mobile phones. Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) will remain the preferred mobile access technology in developed markets, where the mobile Internet is commonly available and activated on the phone. Mobile app downloads and mobile commerce are the main drivers of WAP payments, and WAP will account for almost 90 percent of all mobile transactions in North America and about 70 percent in Western Europe in 2011.

Money transfers and prepaid top-ups will drive transaction volumes in developing markets. These are seen as the “killer apps” in developing markets, where people value the convenience of sending money to relatives and topping up mobile accounts. This is most obvious in Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa, where these two services will account for 54 percent and 32 percent of all transactions in 2011.

“Thanks to the success of mobile application stores, such as Apple’s App Store, and the efforts in driving mobile sales by major retailers, such as Amazon and eBay, merchandise purchases far outweigh other use cases in developed markets, which include North America and Western Europe,” Ms. Shen said. “We predict that in 2011, merchandise purchases will account for 90 percent and 77 percent of all transactions in North America and Western Europe, respectively.”

Additional information is available in the Gartner report “Market Trends: Mobile Payments Worldwide, 2011.” The report is available on Gartner’s website at http://www.gartner.com/resId=1714114.

LG has struggled to grab consumer interest the way Samsung has with its Galaxy S and Galaxy S II smartphones, and it doesn’t look like the manufacturer has a worthy competitor in the pipeline just yet. PocketNow purportedly leaked LG’s entire 2011 portfolio and while there are several attractive devices that run Android and Windows Phone, there is nothing that really blows us away. The lineup includes the following devices:

• LG Prada K2 - An Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) smartphone with a 4.3-inch NOVA display, 16GB of storage, and support for 21Mbps+ networks.
• LG Univa – An Android 2.3 device that is equipped with an 800MHz processor and a 3.5-inch HVGA display.
• LG Fantasy - A Windows Phone Mango-powered device that could make its debut in the fourth quarter of this year. Renders of the phone suggest that it will offer a large display, but other hardware specs are currently not available.
• LG Victor – A mid-range Android Gingerbread device with a 3.8-inch OLED WVGA display, a 5-megapixel camera and a 1GHz processor.
• LG Gelato - A device that may land on Sprint with the model number LS685, a version of the Gelato will reportedly offers support for near-field communications (NFC). It’s equipped with  a 3.2-inch HVGA display, a 3-megapixel camera and an 800MHz processor.

PocketNow also revealed two more devices, the LG K and the E2, but little is currently known about them. We’re assuming that LG also has some more high-end handsets up its sleeves that it’s currently keeping closer to the vest — after all, the LG Thrill 4G (Optimus 3D), offers a high-end dual-core processor. Why would the manufacturer take a step backwards and just release a half-dozen mid-range handsets?

Read

American Express, Discover, MasterCard, and Visa announced a new partnership with ISIS on Tuesday. ISIS is a mobile initiative that was formed in April of last year by AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon Wireless in an effort to help foster the growth of using near-field communications for mobile payments. It’s currently being tested in Salt Lake City and Austin. Tuesday’s announcement means that, as the mobile market moves closer and closer to a time when we can actually use our phones to make tap-and-go payments, consumers will have more payment options. MasterCard also teamed up with Google and Sprint on Google Wallet, which will launch in the future for Android-powered smartphones. We’re not sure why Sprint has held out on joining ISIS, but we hope it jumps on board soon to save consumers from a fragmented mobile payment landscape. Read on for the full press release.

Isis Forms Relationships with Visa, MasterCard, Discover and American Express

Isis Becomes the First and Only Mobile Commerce Platform with Full Support of All Four National Payment Networks

Aspen, Colorado — July 19, 2011: Isis, the national mobile commerce joint venture between AT&T Mobility, T-Mobile USA and Verizon Wireless, today announced that Visa, MasterCard, Discover and American Express will join Isis in making mobile commerce a reality for millions of U.S. consumers and merchants. Isis’ relationships with all four payment networks mean that with Isis-enabled phones and payment terminals in place, merchants and consumers will have ubiquity and freedom of choice when it comes to payment network acceptance.

“Since the formation of Isis in November, we have been committed to building a mobile commerce platform that aligns and advances the interests of consumers, merchants and banks,” said Michael Abbott, chief executive officer for Isis. “By working with the nation’s payment networks – Visa, MasterCard, Discover and American Express – we significantly advance the vision of an open and secure platform that provides banks and merchants with a new and highly relevant way to connect with consumers.”

Today’s announcement underscores Isis’ inclusive approach, providing all critical stakeholders – banks, merchants and consumers – with the freedom and choice necessary to foster a robust new industry and make mobile commerce a reality.

“Visa has long championed an open approach to mobile commerce that allows consumers to choose which account they want to enable for mobile payments,” said Joe Saunders, chief executive officer, Visa Inc. “We are committed to working closely with Isis, handset manufacturers, platform providers and financial institutions to offer consumers a suite of mobile services – mobile payments, coupons tailored to location and lifestyle, real time account information and more.”

Earlier this year, Isis announced Salt Lake City, Utah and Austin, Texas as initial launch markets, slated to roll out in the first half of 2012 with support from all four payment networks.

“We fully support an open commerce ecosystem which will drive the scale necessary for widespread adoption of mobile payments, providing consumers with exciting new possibilities for shopping and saving,” said Ajay Banga, president and chief executive officer, MasterCard Worldwide. “Our work with Isis reinforces MasterCard’s commitment to the continued development, innovation and evolution of mobile payments technologies.”

Isis will bring mobile commerce to consumers and merchants by using mobile phones to make point-of-sale purchases through the use of near-field communication (NFC) technology. Isis will offer customers a secure and convenient way to pay, redeem coupons and store merchant loyalty cards, all with the tap of a phone.

“Discover has been working with Isis from the start to facilitate mobile commerce, which will provide added convenience and benefits to consumers while delivering increased loyalty and sales to merchants,” said David W. Nelms, chairman and chief executive officer for Discover. “Isis’ open strategy is the right approach to establishing a highly secure environment for mobile commerce that will be achieved through the participation of banks and payment networks like Discover.”

Since its formation, Isis has had a strong vested interest in generating industry involvement and support for a mobile commerce platform that is open and inclusive by design. By working with all four payment networks, Isis will set the standard for what it means to be open, secure and reliable in the mobile commerce industry.

“Isis is able to bring choice and opportunity to mobile commerce by helping cardmembers bring the cards in their leather wallet onto their mobile device,” said Bill Glenn, president, Global Merchant Services, American Express. “This relationship is another way for American Express to expand the digital experience in the social marketplace. As the line between online and offline continues to blur, American Express is leveraging our digital closed loop to help connect our merchant network with our cardmembers in any environment.”

If you’ve been waiting for HP’s highly anticipated TouchPad tablet, the company just sweetened the deal a bit more for you. HP recently announced that anyone who purchases the 32GB TouchPad before July 31st will get a $50 mail-in rebate off of the purchase price. The catch? You’ll have to prove that you already own a Palm Pre, Pre Plus, Pixi, or Pixi Plus smartphone. The TouchPad offers a 9.7-inch display, NFC capabilities for unique interactions with HP webOS phones, and a 1.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor. It’s available in two capacities, 16GB ($499.99) and 32GB ($599.99). AT&T will offer a 3G version of the device later this summer, but pricing and an exact launch date have not been detailed.

Read

HP is working on phones and tablets with built-in near-field communication (NFC) technology for mobile payments, Bloomberg reported on Monday. Much like Google Wallet, which will soon launch for the Nexus S and eventually other Android devices, HP hopes its customers will be able to use the company’s products to make mobile purchases in retail outlets. Similarly, HP has a plan to create an entire ecosystem where users will be able to to receive coupons or other benefits, such as loyalty points, from NFC-enabled advertisements. While sources told Bloomberg the products could launch by year-end, HP hasn’t been known to deliver new mobile devices to the market very quickly in the past. It’s also still unclear who the company’s mobile payment partners will be.

Read

HTC isn’t just planning one or two successors to its first Android tablet — the HTC Flyer — instead the company plans to deploy an entire range of Android tablets, said HTC’s European president, Florian Seiche, during the Reuters Global Technology Summit. One such tablet could be the HTC Puccini, possibly destined for AT&T with a 10-inch screen and LTE in tow. “I really believe that the tablet market is really going to be a big market in the future and this is just a start,” Seiche said, noting that his firm feels good about the reception towards its HTC Flyer already. “In five years’ time, schools will have tablets probably instead of physical notebooks. I think that’s going to be such a massive wave of additional penetration in society… I think we can’t even guess the potential,” Seiche added. Mr. Seiche touched on the smartphone market and noted that HTC has plans to launch a new smartphone with near-field communications (NFC) built-in sometime this year. He also discussed Nokia’s budding partnership with Microsoft and Windows Phone: “It will not change our commitment to Microsoft,” Seiche explained. “With a new player entering, it should actually help to elevate the relevance of that platform … we actually feel that we should be able to benefit.”

Read

We’re here in Orlando at RIM’s BlackBerry World developer event and have scored some more hands-on time with the recently announced BlackBerry Bold 9900/9930… and we’re pretty impressed with what we see so far. The Bold 9900 felt light in the hand, but definitely had a premium feel thanks to its thin form factor and metal accents around the body — it’s also the thinnest BlackBerry to date. The new BlackBerry 7 operating system was very snappy and we didn’t experience any lag when bouncing around the new OS, likely thanks to the 1.2GHz processor under its hood. The keyboard reminds us a lot of the original BlackBerry Bold 9000, and the form factor is more akin to that phone than the handset it is replacing, the 9700. The industrial design of the phone is solid, but we do wish RIM would venture away from a form factor that’s feeling pretty stale. We’ll need to spend more time with BlackBerry 7, but superficially it looks nearly identical to BlackBerry 6 — which could be a positive or negative depending on your viewpoint. We’re excited to see what RIM does with the built-in NFC technology, and the faster processor should definitely open the flood gates to more robust applications in the future. We’ve assembled a gallery of photos for your scrutiny. Have a look and let us know what you think of RIM’s latest creation.

After years of waiting from BlackBerry users, the ultimate BlackBerry has finally been made official. We broke the story on the next generation BlackBerry Bold 9900/9930, and we even spent some one-on-one time with it, but there is nothing like an official announcement, right? As far as specs, it’s everything we reported it would be — 1.2GHz processor, 2.8-inch capacitive touchscreen, full QWERTY keyboard, 5 megapixel camera with 720p HD video recording, 8GB of onboard storage, and more. As far as availability, RIM said that the new BlackBerry Bold 9900/9930 will be available from “carriers around the world” starting this summer. We’re hearing June / July still. Entire press release is after the break.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE RIM Introduces New BlackBerry Bold Smartphones

New BlackBerry Bold 9900 and 9930 Smartphones are the Thinnest and Most Powerful BlackBerry Smartphones yet, Featuring the Renowned BlackBerry Keyboard Together with a Brilliant Touch Screen and the New BlackBerry 7 OS

Waterloo, ON – Research In Motion (RIM) (NASDAQ: RIMM; TSX: RIM) today unveiled two new BlackBerry® BoldTM smartphones. The high-performance BlackBerry Bold 9900 and 9930 smartphones feature a stunning and iconic design that integrates an incredibly easy-to-use BlackBerry keyboard with a brilliant, high resolution, capacitive touch screen. These exceptional smartphones are built on a new, performance-driven platform powered by the BlackBerry® 7 operating system and designed to deliver the ultimate in communications, multimedia and productivity for users around the world.

“The new BlackBerry Bold smartphones and BlackBerry 7 OS are inspired by millions of customers around the world who want the ultimate combination of performance, functionality and style,” said Mike Lazaridis, President and Co-CEO, Research In Motion. “These fully-loaded and beautifully crafted smartphones offer a highly refined user experience with blazingly fast performance, a brilliant touch screen and an outstanding typing experience.”

Thin, Sleek, Iconic Design

Distinguished by an iconic design and the industry’s best keyboard, the BlackBerry Bold 9900 and 9930 smartphones feature the premium materials and finishes that characterize the BlackBerry Bold line. Both models have a lustrous exterior with a brushed stainless steel frame and a high-gloss glass-weave backplate. They are also the thinnest BlackBerry smartphones yet, at only 10.5mm. The quality materials and optimized design of the new BlackBerry Bold smartphones are instantly evident when held in the hand.

Performance-Driven

These BlackBerry Bold smartphones are built on a new performance-driven platform featuring a 1.2 GHz processor, Liquid GraphicsTM touch screen, and support for high speed 4G/HSPA+ wide area wireless networks.

The Liquid Graphics touch screen, a key new feature powered by BlackBerry 7, delivers fast, smooth performance for highly responsive touch-based navigation, web browsing, pictures, video and graphics intensive games*. Offering up to 60 frames-per-second performance with instant UI action/response, Liquid Graphics gives customers a visually rich and immersive experience that’s responsive to the touch. In addition, the smartphones feature brilliant displays with an eye- popping 287 dpi to deliver crisp, stunning visuals.

May 2, 2011The new platform also provides support for 4G networks; the 9900 supports HSPA+ connectivity, and the 9930 supports CDMA EV-DO Rev. A and HSPA+ global roaming on GSM/UMTS networks.

NFC

The BlackBerry Bold 9900 and 9930 smartphones include built-in support for NFC (Near Field Communications), a new technology that will enable many rich and exciting experiences. Through NFC, users will be able to, for example, pair the BlackBerry Bold to an accessory or read information such as a web link from smart tags by simply tapping their BlackBerry Bold to an NFC tag (eg. Smart Poster).

Augmented Reality

The BlackBerry Bold 9900 and 9930 smartphones feature a built-in compass (magnetometer) to support location-based services and augmented reality. APIs will allow third party developers to take advantage of the new functionality within their applications. The new smartphones will also include Wikitude, the leader in mobile augmented reality, which overlays contextual information on what the user sees through the smartphone’s camera viewfinder.

HD Video

The new BlackBerry Bold 9900 and 9930 smartphones support up to 720p HD video recording and playback. Users can easily share their videos directly from the smartphone or sync videos, as well as music and photos, to their computer using Media Sync in the BlackBerry® Desktop Software.

BlackBerry 7

The BlackBerry 7 OS is designed to power the new performance-driven BlackBerry Bold platform. It provides an easier and faster user experience with improved browsing, voice- activated searches, the ability to manage personal content separately from corporate content, as well as additional personal and productivity apps out of the box.

The BlackBerry Browser has been significantly enhanced in BlackBerry 7. In addition to the general performance gains of Liquid Graphics, which helps deliver faster rendering and seamless panning and zooming, the BlackBerry 7 browser includes a new JIT (just in time) JavaScript compiler to improve the load time speed of web pages. The new browser also includes support for additional HTML5 elements, such as HTML5 Video.

Building upon the Universal Search feature introduced in BlackBerry 6, BlackBerry 7 expands the capability to include voice-activated search. This new capability makes it even easier and more convenient to search for content on the smartphone or web.

BlackBerry 7 also integrates BlackBerry® BalanceTM, which separates personal content from corporate content on the smartphone, giving users the freedom and flexibility to use the handset for personal email, Facebook®, Twitter®, multimedia, games and other apps while satisfying the very real need for corporate data to be highly secure and manageable. BlackBerry Balance works in conjunction with BlackBerry® Enterprise Server 5.0.3, which provides a number of unique IT policy controls such as wiping only corporate data from the handset or blocking work related content and apps from being copied or forwarded to personal contacts.

With BlackBerry 7 on the BlackBerry Bold 9900 and 9930 smartphones, users will also get the full version of Docs To Go® with all “premium” features enabled out-of-the-box so that users can easily work with Word, Excel and PowerPoint files directly on the smartphone. Docs To Go also includes a native PDF viewer.

Availability

The new BlackBerry Bold 9900 and 9930 smartphones are expected to be available from carriers around the world beginning this summer.

For additional information please visit www.blackberry.com/touchbold

APPENDIX

BlackBerry Bold 9900 and 9930 Specifications

• 115 x 66 x 10.5 mm, approximately 130 g • 2.8″ capacitive touch screen display – VGA (640×480), 287 dpi resolution • Ultra-easy QWERTY keyboard, optical trackpad • 1.2 GHz Processor, 768 MB RAM • 8 GB on-board memory, plus microSD slot supporting up to 32 GB cards • NFC technology • 5.0 MP camera, supports 720p HD video recording • Orientation Sensor (Accelerometer), Digital Compass (Magnetometer), Proximity Sensor • Built-in GPS / aGPS • Dual-Band Wi-Fi® – 802.11 b/g/n at 2.4 GHz and 802.11 a/n at 5 GHz • Bluetooth® 2.1+EDR support • Wireless Network support:

o 9900:Tri-BandHSPA+,Quad-BandGSM/EDGE o 9930:Dual-BandCDMA/EV-DORev.A,Dual-BandHSPA+,Quad-Band

GSM/EDGE • 1230 mAh removable, rechargeable battery

• BlackBerry 7 OS * Features OpenGL 2.0 support for developers.

About Research In Motion

###

Research In Motion (RIM), a global leader in wireless innovation, revolutionized the mobile industry with the introduction of the BlackBerry® solution in 1999. Today, BlackBerry products and services are used by millions of customers around the world to stay connected to the people and content that matter most throughout their day. Founded in 1984 and based in Waterloo, Ontario, RIM operates offices in North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and Latin America. RIM is listed on the NASDAQ Stock Market (NASDAQ: RIMM) and the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: RIM). For more information, visit www.rim.com or www.blackberry.com.

According to a report filed by Bloomberg, online retail giant Amazon is toying with the idea of launching a mobile payments service. Citing two anonymous sources, the publication notes that the service would “let consumers pay for goods in brick-and-mortar stores using their mobile phones.” Amazon is purportedly testing payment technologies based on NFC (Near Field Communications) in an effort to expand its Payments service. This is the company’s latest venture into the mobile world. Amazon officially opened its Appstore for Android on March 22nd and its Cloud Drive music storage/streaming service on March 29th. The company has not made any public statements about future plans involving mobile payments or NFC.

Read