S2 WENA IPSI - that’s tech for new wearables and mobile ticketing! Your Contactless Intelligence Weekly News Review

S2 WENA IPSI - that’s tech for new wearables and mobile ticketing!

Last week saw the annual consumer electronics and home appliance show - IFA - take place in Berlin. Along with the annual demonstration of how much smarter the average washing machine or fridge is than the person using it, we also had a slew of smart watches and other wearables introduced. Those that weren’t unveiled at the show were unveiled on an even larger stage, globally known as Twitter.

However, first out at IFA was the Samsung Gear S2. The smartwatch, which also comes in a classic version will launch properly in the UK in October. Samsung say that when the launches occurs there will also be approximately 1,000 complimentary apps available to download as well as customisable watch faces. And, as expected, there will also be the possibility to make contactless payments with the watch. “Samsung has pioneered and led the wearables category over the last few years, bringing exciting new innovations into the market,” commented Samsung Mobile’s Vice President IT and Mobile Division, Conor Pierce. “The Samsung Gear S2 is the most exciting smartwatch to date and offers customers a completely new wearable experience. With an incredibly vibrant screen, it’s the first-ever watch with voice capability and a host of connected features like being able to make calls without the need for a smartphone. You’ll want to wear it from day to night as the ultimate fashion accessory.”

Not to be outdone, Sony also unveiled a watch that they had been working on called the Wena Wrist (not to be confused phonetically with the ‘Wiener Wrist’). The WENA also offers NFC Wallet compatibility, along with activity tracking, and LED notifications. Most of the technology is actually built into the watch strap itself but we could be waiting a while to see it on the streets. The watch is currently up for crowdfunding at Sony’s own First Flight platform in Japan (its innovation prototype platform) and is expected to ship in March-April 2016. The Sony Wena Wrist would sell for ¥34,800 ($287) for a silver edition while the three hands model will be available for up to ¥69,800 ($576) for the chronograph in black. Not quite the all-singing, all-dancing smart watches we have come to expect (thanks to Apple and Samsung), but this could be a nice compromise for those who really don’t want to wear a computer on their wrist but want an easier way to pay with contactless technology.

And, finally, in the wearable area, the Twitter sphere seems to have gone crazy over a jacket released from Lyle & Scott’s new innovation team who have attempted to create a high tech contactless payment jacket for the urban environment (my phrasing). While it looks just like any normal jacket it actually offers something a little different. That’s because the company has partnered up with bPay by Barclaycard to create the first jacket that will let you pay for anything up to £30. The small micro card fits into a special sleeve pocket in the coat that is stitched with the contactless logo so you don’t look like a prat if you forget and wave the wrong arm over the POS. The Contactless Jacket by Lyle & Scott is available now for £150 and is available in ‘admiral’ blue and ‘true’ black. ‘We are a brand that embraces our heritage however we understand that it is extremely important to stay in touch with the needs of our modern customers,’ explains innovation project manager at Lyle and Scott, Jonathan Briggs. ‘Innovation is key to realising this, and so we are proud to partner with bPay to launch the world’s first contactless payment jacket. The jacket can be used to pay at any contactless terminal for transactions up to £30, ultimately seizing the next step in satisfying the consumer’s need for flexibility and convenience.’

Picking up a thread brought up earlier, mainly IFA, Berlin and Germany as a whole, this summer saw the beginnings of a testing phase for mobile ticketing on Germany’s busses and trains. Brought to fruition by IPSI, a nationwide mobile ticket system is being put into place. First transportation systems to take advantage of this will include the Berlin Transport Authority (BVG), German Railways (DB), Hamburger Hochbahn (HHA), Cologne Transport Authority (KVB), Munich Transport Company (MVG), Rhine Main Transport Association (RMV), Stadtwerke Münster, Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Ruhr (VRR), Stuttgart tram (SSB) and the Transport and Tariff Association Stuttgart (VVS). We hope to have more information on this soon as it begins to roll out. Further information can be found in the German language only site here. Luckily for our English speakers, Google will translate the whole site for you.

Continuing the theme of contactless in Germany (a country notoriously difficult to crack in terms of contactless), this April saw the launch of a pilot in Berlin under the motto, „zahl einfach mobil“ (just pay mobile), the largest mobile payment initiative in Germany. NFC City Berlin was launched by GS1 Germany and is a joint initiative of the German mobile network operators German Telekom, Telefónica Germany and Vodafone Germany and the trading partner Galeria Kaufhof and Real (METRO Group companies), Kaiser's, Obi and Rewe and Penny, Temma and Oh Angie (company Rewe Group). There is to be a ’Mobile in Retail Conference 2015’ on September 29/30 in Berlin. Lots of familiar German faces and some international industry heavyweights are expected. Further information on the event can be found on the GS1 website here.

And finally, not to be outdone, please remember that we are also hosting a one-of-a-kind roundtable next month, aptly named Contactless Britannia. Those technology companies who are attending may want to read a couple of backgrounder pieces that highlight the need for technological change in Britain’s high streets, written by Guy Douglas - a leading speaker on the subject if there ever was one. You can read his pieces here and here and you can also find out a little more about the meeting (and how to register for those last few places) here and here. We hope to have the final agenda out in the next couple of weeks, so keep checking the site for updates.

Until next time,

Steve Atkins
Contactless Intelligence