Dear Readers,
it will come as a no surprise to anyone that this week's editorial will be focusing upon Apple and their lack of support, once more, for NFC. Last week was their Worldwide Developers Conference and although I don't think anyone really expected to see a new phone in the offering, I do believe that many expected at least some mention of NFC or, more likely, Apple's views or movement on their mobile wallet kind-of-offering, namely Passbook.
What we got was a big, fat nada. Nothing. Zip. No mention of Passbook at all - not even a reference to the change of icon design. Although, CEO Tim Cook did slip in that Apple currently has over 575,000,000 accounts in the iTunes store. All, he assured us, backed with a credit card. Was this a sly reference to the shape of things to come in the Apple world in terms of mobile payments? No. At least not today.
What we heard was a cheap shot from Apple's mobile development chief Craig Federighi, when he announced the company's AirDrop data sharing technology for iOS 7. "AirDrop is the easiest way to share [data] with people around you," Federighi said "There's no need to wander around the room bumping your phone." His remark got a lot of approving laughs from Apple developers in the room, who were undoubtedly familiar with Android Beam, a combination of NFC and Bluetooth data sharing technology that has been available for more than a year and is being used in some of the Samsung Galaxy S4 TV commercials.
Computerworld reported the difference between AirDrop and Android Beam in some depth but summarised as the following: "The NFC technology in various new Android phones allows users to swap photos, songs and documents by touching, or nearly touching, two compatible Android phones together. Android Beam initiates the sharing with NFC, which kicks off a faster Bluetooth connection. With AirDrop, there's no NFC involved, according to Apple's website, just Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. "Just tap Share, then select the person you want to share with," Apple's website says. "AirDrop does the rest using Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. No setup required. And transfers are encrypted, so what you share is highly secure." Based on how Wi-Fi works today, even in emerging fast 802.11ac, also called 5G Wi-Fi, AirDrop could allow users to be as far apart as different rooms in a house or apartment, and up to 100 meters in some situations. While that might sound like an advantage over NFC, which Apple has notably left out of its iPhones thus far, at least one analyst said Apple is still likely to adopt NFC at some point, if not in the next iPhone expected to launch in the fall."
One site that had a lot to say for itself on the matter of Apple, NFC and what Apple supposedly thought on the matter was technology site, TechCrunch who posted rather incendiary article titled "NFC stands for Nobody F****** Cares And Apple gets that"(http://tcrn.ch/13BYoxS). Written by Natasha Lomas, the article poured scorn upon NFC - case in point, her comment, "The reality is NFC is an ugly wasteland of non-use. Ever seen anyone IRL (Editor: "In Real Life" – this was written by a hip, cool, young (probably) TechCrunch writer after all) tapping their phones together? Or tapping on an NFC tag or reader? It’s about as rare as hen’s teeth. Granted NFC is used in some countries as a payment solution but as a general, catch-all system for close data transfer, it’s a dud."
I recommend you read the article. She has an opinion, but then again - so do the 700 plus commentators that accompany the article. As usual, the comments make better reading than the actual source of their scorn (or praise).
Carolina Milanesi, an analyst at Gartner, has gone on record saying that she thinks Federighi's joke about not needing to bump phones for AirDrop is a subtle indicator that NFC won't surface in the next iPhone. But down the road, she predicted, NFC will come to the iPhone. "AirDrop gives current iOS users a way to share, especially if they will not update to the new hardware when it gets NFC," she said. "So in a way, AirDrop helps keep older hardware relevant once NFC is integrated in the devices."
Personally, I think that Apple will adopt NFC in their phones at some point. Just like Bluetooth was finally adopted by all phone manufacturers. I think it's inevitable. But don't be surprised if they do it without fanfare. After all, Apple adopting a market accepted standard, after-the-fact? It's just not their style, so shuuuuush….
Until next week.
Regards,
Steve Atkins
Contactless Intelligence
This week on C-ITV
Cashless vending – bringing financial benefits, consumer satisfaction and customer retention http://wp.me/p1Jrjn-2i9
SoftBank Mobile selects Gemalto TSM to further expand Japan's mobile NFC ecosystem http://wp.me/p1Jrjn-2ij
Mobile Ticketing Users to Approach 1bn by 2018, Juniper Research finds http://wp.me/p1Jrjn-2ig
Visa wants you to feel the freedom... http://wp.me/p1Jrjn-2iu
...and Visa wants you to feel the speed... http://wp.me/p1Jrjn-2ip
NFC product certification needs to balance security, functionality and cost, says FIME http://wp.me/p1Jrjn-2iz
Oberthur partners with HID Global to carry Seos digital keys on NFC SIM cards http://wp.me/p1Jrjn-2i1
Payments & m-Commerce
Hungary: Paying with cash may cost money http://bit.ly/1br4XVA
How did Visa find itself in a pickle in Hungary? http://bit.ly/171JKF1
Telekom, AirPlus launch m-payments pilot in Germany http://bit.ly/1br6fzO
Big data to drive banks' mobile wallet strategies - Finextra research http://bit.ly/1br68UQ
New mobile payment solution to drive cashless transactions http://bit.ly/1br67Ai
Australia: ANZ fears 'mobile wallet' future http://bit.ly/1br6tab
New start-up targets Aussie mobile payments market http://bit.ly/1br6lYi
CETECOM successfully accredited for VISA Mobile Payment http://bit.ly/171KHNF
Weve to launch NFC payments in the UK in 2014 http://bit.ly/171KDgF
Nigeria: Mobile Payment Operators Plan Industry Framework http://bit.ly/171KCth
So, what happens to Passbook in iOS 7? http://bit.ly/171KjPe
Why cash is making a comeback http://bit.ly/171Kgmt
Contactless is (still) the future of payments http://bit.ly/171JUwd
Pelephone to launch digital wallet http://bit.ly/12HIC7R
Japan Continues Transition to NFC with Planned PayPass Terminal Rollout, TSM Business http://bit.ly/12HIIMP
Is Apple's Passbook the Stealth E-Wallet Success? http://bit.ly/12HIW6G
Traditional, contactless cards - the best solution for consumers http://bit.ly/152sI2y
VIDEO: Mpos sparks merchants' interest http://bit.ly/152sFDT
Central bank pilots home grown payment system http://bit.ly/152sBnQ
Riding the mobile payment wave http://bit.ly/152sTen
Strengthen customer relationships with mobile payments and plastic cards http://bit.ly/152taho
NFC & Mobile
Wireless Dynamics launches NFC case for iPhone 5 http://bit.ly/152tgWd
Bookstore Libri pilots NFC service in Hungary http://bit.ly/152tbBL
NFC Stands For Nobody F****** Cares And Apple Gets That http://techcrunch.com/2013/06/12/nfc/
Tamoco provides estate agency with NFC solutions http://bit.ly/1br5YwL
Billboard magazine puts on music with NFC tags http://bit.ly/1br6jzt
EmoPulse seeks funding for NFC smartphone watch http://bit.ly/12HIZiV
Far EasTone to pilot NFC payments in Taiwan http://bit.ly/152tAUU
Transportation, Ticketing, Access, Security & Loyalty
Strasbourg launches NFC ticketing on public transport http://bit.ly/152sRD4
NJ Transit's mobile ticketing pilot slowly catching on http://bit.ly/152sKYd
Biometric payments are top option for security-concious shoppers, survey finds http://bit.ly/1br4Fhi
Country train travellers to start switch to myki http://bit.ly/1br5UgC
Myki coming soon to Traralgon trains http://bit.ly/12HIzZO
Other News & Opinion Articles
FINEXTRA VIDEO: Social media and the mobile wallet http://bit.ly/152tQ6e
Why Grocery Retailers need Mobile Shopping http://bit.ly/152teh8
Orange Group NFC Veteran Barnaud Departs for Wallet Vendor C-SAM http://bit.ly/12HIMwc
CaixaBank hosts the international forum for mobile banking experts in Barcelona http://bit.ly/16ZzD3p
The Cost of Cash: German Consumers Pay Eur 150 Per Year http://bit.ly/12HImpw
Big Brother Is Watching You Swipe: The NSA’s Credit Card Data Grab http://ti.me/12HIuW3
PayAnywhere Partners with CAMP MASTERS Popcorn to Provide Mobile Processing for the Boy Scouts http://bit.ly/12HJ463
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