Breaking news, information, and analysis on the latest mobile phones and mobile technology
Yesterday, RIM announced that they would be incorporating an NFC feature called Tag into their next BlackBerry 7 update. It will let owners of NFC-enabled BlackBerry devices to swap contacts, documents, web site URLs, pictures, and videos just by tapping their phones together. Yeah, it sounds an awful lot like Bump, but good luck getting…
Mobile phones have evolved throughout the years to do more than just let you ring someone up from anywhere you can get coverage. Text messaging came in the 90s, as did Bluetooth, then at the turn of the century we saw cameras being added, after that WiFi, and during the last half decade we’ve seen…
Isis, a joint venture between AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile, announced today that most of the leading mobile device manufacturers have worked with them to get near-field communication (NFC) technology onto upcoming handsets. Specifically, HTC, LG, Motorola Mobility, RIM, Samsung, and Sony Ericcson are all on board. DeviceFidelity also joining the cause by promising new products…
Broadcom has just announced their first NFC products, the BCM2079x family of chips. Built using a 40 nanometer process, their chips use 90% less power than current solutions and they also take up 40% less space on a motherboard. They even support multiple embedded secure elements and/or SIM cards for contactless payment and secure applications.…
Orange is betting heavily on the prospects of contactless payments, powered by NFC (Near Field Communication) technology. In the UK, they will be piloting the service using Samsung’s bada-powered Wave 578, while for its own backyard they’ll use the Samsung Galaxy S II. As far as I’ve understood, they won’t be offering some special version…
Sonim, a phone maker you might not be too familiar with, is an expert in making devices that are damn near apocalypse proof. They can withstand pretty much anything you throw at them, which is why they’re popular with soldiers, security personeel, and construction workers. Those folks need devices that take a beating and last…
After a few months of testing, Google’s plans for using Android to power purchases are finally coming to fruition. Google Wallet is now available to Samsung Nexus S owners on Sprint, enabling tap-and-go payments through PayPass sensors at Radio Shack, Foot Locker, Peet’s Coffee & Tea, Sunoco, CVS/pharamacy, and a bunch of other retail locations. American…
Yesterday, the BlackBerry Bold 9930 got some specific launch dates and pricing from a few different carriers. The press release for Verizon’s model is conspicuously missing any mention of near-field communications, a feature that was supposed to set this phone apart from RIM’s other OS 7 devices. As it turns out, the feature is actually…
An undocumented rumour is suggesting that AT&T will be blocking near-field communications in their upcoming BlackBerry Bold 9900 at the software level. That said, there might be couple of workarounds found by the BlackBerry community at large post-launch. It’s not a huge loss, since NFC usage isn’t particularly widespread, but it does seem like a…
The other night was a little disappointing since neither of the new BlackBerry devices announced (the Torch 9810 and Torch 9850/60) had near-field communications or mobile Wi-Fi hotspot features. The upcoming Curve 9360 (code-named Apollo), may very well have them included, however. This is pretty interesting, considering we’re expecting the 9360 to be a lower-tier…