The Apple iPhone and NFC

I’ve been talking a fair bit this week about some of the commercial and consumer challenges regarding mobile payments and NFC. I even had one crazy conversation with a lady that felt that a YouGov survey on the subject was flawed as it disagreed with her opinion.

The reality is that NFC is not going to be a significant mobile payment method for some while…if at all.

So where is the Apple iPhone in all this? This article had some good comments to consider: http://www.paybefore.com/aboutus/default.aspx?id=24522

BlackBerry’s market positioning in the UK

Gerry Kelliher, a director with RIM, is committed to adding NFC to every new BlackBerry handset in order to cement its position as the frontrunner for NFC technology in the UK.

“If customers are interested in NFC in the UK they need to be looking at BlackBerry,” he said. “We’re looking to put NFC in as many devices as possible.”

via NFCNews | BlackBerrys dominate NFC phone market in UK

Well I don’t expect many people will give up their iPhone to for BlackBerry NFC. And Samsung is the biggest producer of smartphones now. What chance for BlackBerry if this is their market positioning?

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  • How is the blackberry cell phone positioned in the market?

NFC simplified

NFC continues to catch the headlines and deliver confusion in almost equal doses. This article, www.pcworld.com/article/252766/5_important_facts_about_nearfield_communications.html, delivers a simple perspective of the situation today under the section headlines:

:: It’s Cheap and Easy.
:: Adoption Seems Inevitable.
:: It’s a Hot Potato for Enterprises.
:: It’s Already in Use Overseas.
:: Security Risks Come Standard.

And while NFC continues to confuse Square develops and PayPal Here has launched.

First NFC smartphones certified as MasterCard PayPass approved devices

Research In Motion announced the BlackBerry Bold 9900 and BlackBerry Curve 9360 smartphones are the first SIM-based NFC smartphones to be certified by MasterCard Worldwide as PayPass-approved devices.

With this certification, any MasterCard PayPass-issuing bank globally will be able to deploy PayPass-enabled accounts to the SIM card of these smartphones. The certification was granted on the basis of the BlackBerry smartphones meeting the functionality, interoperability, and security requirements of MasterCard.

via First NFC smartphones certified as MasterCard PayPass approved devices.

First BlackBerry NFC phones to arrive later this month

The BlackBerry Bold 9900 and 9930 NFC-enabled smartphones will start shipping “later this month”, Research in Motion has announced.

RIM first unveiled the two phones in May this year and said at the time that they would be available from this summer. Amazon UK has had the Bold 9900 listed for pre-order since early July with an expected delivery date of 15 September. But it now looks as though the new NFC phones could be available as soon as next week.

via First BlackBerry NFC phones to arrive later this month • NFC World.

Ticketfriend launches end-to-end contactless ticketing system

A young sales technology company has launched a new ticketing solution allowing users to buy and redeem tickets through a tap of their smartphone.

Dublin, Ireland-based ticketfriend, a ticket sales and event promotion company, has since 2009 provided a space for users to buy, sell and promote tickets to events through their Web site. With the refinement of near field communications (NFC) technology over the years, the company has made a decision to move into mobile contactless ticketing, and it has just launched a new app specifically for use with Google’s Android operating system. NFC allows users to tap their smartphones to another device to make a purchase or exchange information.

via Ticketfriend launches end-to-end contactless ticketing system | TicketNews.