New research from Berg Insight indicates that the infrastructure required for expanded NFC mobile wallet services is finally emerging.

There were NFC mobile wallet services commercially live in 13 countries worldwide at the end of Q1-2013, the report notes, which is up from just 6 countries at the end of 2011.

However, these services are still available to a very small number of consumers, Berg explains.

Continue Reading

The 2012 reboot of the sci-fi classic Total Recall illustrated an interesting concept for the future of communication technology. The envisioned future portrayed a time in which people could embed electronic circuitry directly into their hands and use their palms as smartphones.

Insert your joke here about where they embedded fax machines.

What’s truly remarkable, however, is the number of cutting-edge futuristic technologies in Total Recall that actually already exist or are poised to launch in the coming months.

Continue Reading

On Tuesday, word came to light that T-Mobile is working to update the new Galaxy S4 smartphone to run Android 4.2.2 (Jelly Bean).

As a result, the over-the-air push update will begin reaching owners of the Samsung flagship smartphone today.

Along with the update comes support for Isis, the NFC-based mobile wallet solution also brought to life by the concerted efforts of Verizon and AT&T.

Continue Reading

USA Technologies, Inc. – an established powerhouse in wireless, cashless payment and M2M telemetry solutions – is launching what the company believes is the largest mobile payment and loyalty program for the U.S. vending industry.

The announcement came this week at the NAMA OneShow in Las Vegas, Nevada.

According to USAT, loyalty programs can help drive traffic, repeat business and brand loyalty.

Continue Reading

According to published reports Tuesday, NFC mobile payment solutions are being tested at a McDonald’s in Canada.

The Interac Association payments and debit card services network says its Interac Flash contactless solution has been added to selected Interac Debit cards to offer users tap-to-pay functionality.

Thanks to the company’s partnership with RBC Royal Bank, they’ve integrated the aforementioned technology into BlackBerry smartphones via an app. As a result, an NFC payments trial taking place as we speak at a McDonald’s restaurant in Canada.

Continue Reading

More than 500 million NFC-ready mobile phones will enter the market in 2014, giving major widespread accessibility to near Field Communications Technology.

According to ABI Research, the jump to 500 million NFC devices nearly doubles the estimated 285 million NFC phones shipping in 2013.

“NFC has reached the point of no return,” explains John Devlin, ABI’s practice director. “It all hinged on handsets; and next year we will see half a billion devices in the hands of consumers as [NFC] becomes more widely integrated. Up until this point banks and other service partners were holding back from committing to [mobile network operators] and it has always surprised me that they did not drive this forward themselves and invest to take charge of this market’s potential.”

Continue Reading

As rumors swirl that Apple will soon release an iOS-powered smart watch affectionately dubbed iWatch by the bustling tech blogosphere, other leading names in mobile technology aren’t being so secretive about their plans to release a similar product.

Earlier this week MMW reported that Samsung has now confirmed plans for the company to market what will likely be an Android-powered smart watch. “We’ve been preparing the watch product for so long,” said Lee Young Hee, executive vice president of Samsung’s mobile business. “We are working very hard to get ready for it. We are preparing products for the future, and the watch is definitely one of them.”

On Friday, Google’s purported work on a forthcoming smart watch was chronicled by the Financial Times, while The Korea Times suggested that electronics maker LG is doing the same on a smart watch of its own.

Continue Reading