Small, cheap smart-tag devices that are printed as digital circuits in rolls like newspapers could help kickstart the wireless payment industry. The devices, known as rectennas, combine a rectifier – which converts current from AC to DC – with an antenna, and can harness power directly from radio waves given off by a mobile phone. More »
A new generation of cheaper, passively powered smart tags could accelerate NFC adoption very soon. Developed at Sunchon National University and Paru Printed Electronics Research Institute in Korea, the circuits could be printed in a similar method to newspapers, but it’s the inclusion of the rectenna that makes the new chip technology so appealing. The combination antenna and rectifier can pick up residual radio waves from your phone to power itself. This new technology could apparently drop the cost of installing NFC to as little as one penny per unit, while offering up additional two-way functionality over its RFID rival. And if there’s a speed boost in the process, well, all the better.
Filed under: Misc. Gadgets, Science
Cheap NFC-based chips run on your phone’s radio waves, can be read and written originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 10 Aug 2012 10:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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We know our fair share about the redesigned Galaxy Note 10.1, but wait — what’s this? Another Samsung tablet, the GT-P8110, has made a trip through the FCC to complicate what was looking to be a simple near-future strategy for the Korean tech giant. The likely Galaxy Tab variant isn’t a familiar design by any stretch, with curved sides and the absence of a back antenna window pointing to a change in aesthetics. The wireless features of the 16GB model at the agency are the conservative elements — there’s just 802.11n WiFi, Bluetooth and NFC. Our only current hint at what the unknown slate might be is a mention of the 11.8-inch P10 in court evidence, but we don’t know if that’s what the P8110 represents or if the P10 is even on track for 2012, as Samsung’s roadmap hinted in the past. We’re not counting on Mobile Unpacked to shed any more light on the subject than the FCC does today.
Update: We’re less inclined to think it’s the P10, since the dimensions as we understand them wouldn’t realistically support that 11.8-inch screen.
Filed under: Tablet PCs
Mystery Samsung GT-P8110 tablet passes through the FCC (update: likely not the P10) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 09 Aug 2012 20:10:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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If you’ve been paying attention, you not only knew Lenovo was readying a ThinkPad-branded Windows 8 tablet, but you probably already noticed all the leaked specs, too. Indeed, we first saw this thing all the way back at Computex, where Lenovo gave us a fairly hands-off peek, taking care to conceal most of the device’s specs. Later, it turned up in the FCC and in official documents, letting us know the slate would actually be arriving quite soon.
And here it is! As we previously reported, this is a 10-inch slate running Windows 8 and an Intel Atom processor. And yes, it will replace the current ThinkPad Tablet, which runs Android. Other key specs include a 1,366 x 768 IPS display, a 10-hour battery, optional 3G / 4G, micro-HDMI output and a pair of 2MP / 8MP cameras. For the most part, that cellular connection will take the form of HSPA+ but in the US, at least, the tablet will be available on AT&T’s LTE network. And, as we learned in more recent leaks, this 9.8mm-thick tablet makes room for an NFC radio, along with a fingerprint reader and a pen, which can be stowed in a slot on the tablet. Additionally, it will be sold alongside an optional keyboard, as well as a dock with three USB ports, HDMI-out and an Ethernet jack.
The one thing we don’t know? The price. So far, Lenovo is only saying the tablet will be available in October, when Windows 8 starts shipping. For now, we’ve got a mix of glossy press shots for your viewing pleasure, along with some hands-on photos we took in advance of tonight’s announcement.
Gallery: Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet 2
Gallery: Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet 2 hands-on
Filed under: Tablet PCs
Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet 2 official: Windows 8, NFC and a fingerprint reader, arrives in October originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 08 Aug 2012 19:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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The Elecom TK-FNS040BK is claimed to be the world’s first NFC keyboard for Android devices. It uses the NFC IP-1 protocol to connect with any NFC-enabled Android devices. This NFC keyboard works in conjunction with Elecom’s ATOK app that you can download from Google Play. Folks in Japan are able to buy the Elecom TK-FNS040BK for 18,690 Yen ($237). [Akihabara]
NFC is used primarily for enjoyable activities, like buying things, sharing content and making QR codes feel old. But Japanese company Elecom is looking to change all that with a compact keyboard that exploits NFC for productivity. The silicon menace requires a companion app and is compatible with Android phones running Gingerbread (2.3.4) and up. If the bundled case had you sold on the peripheral, you may want to reconsider. The retail price is a sizeable 18,690 yen (approximately $240), and what’s worse, the battery is neither rechargeable nor replaceable, so you’ll have to bin it after the stated six months to a year 18 months (eight hours a day) of life. Still interested? Then head over the break for a video demo from Norwegian co-development company one2TOUCH.
Gallery: Elecom NFC keyboard press shots
Continue reading Throwaway NFC keyboard improves productivity, reduces bank balance
Filed under: Cellphones, Peripherals
Throwaway NFC keyboard improves productivity, reduces bank balance originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 07 Aug 2012 17:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Apple has been filing more than its fair share of NFC-related patents, but it was just granted what could be one of its more important wins at the USPTO. The design for an “on-the-go shopping list” app would help buyers find and pull the trigger on deals through every tool an iPhone has at its disposal, whether it’s taking a snapshot of goods with the camera, punching in the UPC code by hand or tapping an item for an NFC-based “touch scan.” We’ll admit that we’re a bit disappointed at how NFC is used, however. As with an earlier filing, the very short range wireless is kept largely to price comparisons and adding products to a list for a purchase from a store clerk later on, rather than closing the deal outright as we’ve seen with Google Wallet. The original 2008 filing date will also have seen a lot of water flowing under the bridge; there’s no guarantee that any enthusiasm for NFC from the iPhone 3G era will have transferred to the present day. Accordingly, we would be careful about drawing any connections between iOS 6’s Passbook and Apple’s ideas from four years ago — even if Apple has regularly been a never–say–never sort of company.
Filed under: Cellphones
Apple lands patent for NFC-ready shopping app, could make impulse spending an iPhone tap away originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 07 Aug 2012 12:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Choosing the path less taken by connecting to a device using NFC in lieu of the more common Bluetooth, Elecom’s new TK-FNS040BK wireless keyboard skips the hassle of having to always pair with your gear at the cost of a considerably limited range. More »
While for most people, myself including, NFC was the next holy grail in mobile payment, some decided that NFC could to much more, like today’s new NFC Keyboard for Android smartphones.
Announced at 18,690 Yen, the TK-FNS040BK, is a small keyboard using NFC IP-1 protocol and that let you turn your mobile device in a real and compact productivity center.
While we like the concept behind the TK-FNS040BK it unfortunately do not deliver much! Indeed it will require/forced you to use at first …
Verizon has fought Google Wallet pretty hard, in favor of whatever similar NFC service it’s working on. But it seems to have ceded some ground to Google: Verizon’s Galaxy Nexus can now reportedly download and use the Google Wallet app directly from the Google Play Store. More »
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