iPhone 4 gets upgraded for NFC payments the hard way

Softbank customers in Japan can simply get an NFC sticker to add some contact-less payments to their iPhone 4, but most folks don’t have it quite so easy just yet. There are some alternatives while you wait for Apple to hop on the NFC bandwagon, however, like this solution from Unplggd‘s Vivian Kim. It uses one of the smaller NFC-equipped credit cards now available from some banks, which is apparently just small enough to fit under the back cover of an iPhone 4 (a clear one, in this case, to show off your cleverness). And, yes, it apparently still works just fine under there — even if you add a case on top of it.

iPhone 4 gets upgraded for NFC payments the hard way originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 29 Jul 2011 20:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Did the Samsung Galaxy S II with NFC just hit the FCC?

Hooray, another Samsung phone made it through the FCC, and it looks like it could be another Galaxy S II variant. No, it’s not the Tegra 2-clad version. Nor is it the one with WiMAX. Heck, it’s not even the GT-i9100 that showed up in March. Nay, it’s the Samsung i777, a new form of the phone sequel we’ve been pulling our hair out in anticipation for. What’s so great about this candidate? It’s rocking an NFC antenna on the battery cover and utilizes 850 / 1900 bands in the WCDMA / HSPA variety, making it a tasty target for users on AT&T, Bell, Rogers, or Telus. The phone’s dimensions are identical with Europe’s current model, which nearly seals the deal on its likely association with the Galaxy S II lineup. Annoyed that this beauty is cradled in some FCC tester’s hands and not yours? Fret not, August is quickly approaching.

Did the Samsung Galaxy S II with NFC just hit the FCC? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 29 Jul 2011 00:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Fujitsu wants to push out location-based apps, pull them back again

Maybe, just maybe, this wireless technology in development at Fujitsu makes some sense. When you walk within range of an NFC sensor or GPS coordinate, the cloud-based system takes the liberty of pushing location-relevant apps to your phone or tablet. Enter a museum, for example, and you’ll automatically receive its tour guide app. Your device could even be made to work as a viral transmitter, spreading the app to other visitors’ handsets. Finally, when you leave, all the bloatware just magically disappears. Alternatively, the museum’s marketing department conveniently forgets to configure this last step, accidentally signs you up to its newsletter and grabs a donation from your PayPal account while it has the chance. We would obviously find this rather upsetting, unless the museum has dinosaurs.

Fujitsu wants to push out location-based apps, pull them back again originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 19 Jul 2011 10:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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PayPal announces phone-to-phone NFC support, cuts eyes at Google (video)

Still eager to do business with a company that’ll lock your account on a whim and side with the buyer regardless of the facts? Splendid! If that’s you, PayPal would love for you to know that it has announced a new phone-to-phone NFC payment application at MobileBeat 2011, offering Nexus S owners the ability to request and transfer funds between handsets. As of now, the functionality is quite limited — there’s just a single smartphone with the hardware capabilities to take advantage, and there’s no phone-to-anything not a phone supported as of now. In other words, this isn’t exactly a Square killer just yet, but it’s definitely something for the sued folks at Google to pay attention to. We’re also hearing that P2P transactions through PayPal are gratis “if using a bank account or existing balance in the customer’s PayPal account,” but no one’s coughing up details on what’ll be deducted in the form of fees when using a different method of payment. A video demo of the 48 second transaction awaits you after the break, but sadly, there’s no details on how soon it’ll be made available to the public.

Update: It’ll be available in the Android Market “this summer.”

Continue reading PayPal announces phone-to-phone NFC support, cuts eyes at Google (video)

PayPal announces phone-to-phone NFC support, cuts eyes at Google (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 13 Jul 2011 14:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink TechCrunch  |  sourcePayPal (YouTube), The PayPal Blog  | Email this | Comments

Google+ sneaks NFC into its Android app, gets caught red-handed

NFC is gradually turning to the social side, thanks to new functionality found within the Google+ app for Android. Software developer Ridzuan Ashim discovered that, when used on an NFC-enabled device, you can read tags and share them through the new social networking service. After scanning, the OS asks you if you want to share the associated text with Google+ or another relevant program. Though the abilities seem somewhat limited for now, we’ll likely see more developer support tossed in as the service matures. Using NFC in this way could lead us into a group Huddle, check us in at a restaurant and share it with our Circles, and perhaps even add us into somebody’s Circle or Hangout. It’s only functional on a limited number of Android devices for now, so if you happen to use a Nexus S and have been invited to the exclusive club better known as Google+, you’re a prime candidate for giving it a look-see. If the above criteria doesn’t apply, check out the video below to experience all that near-field glory through someone else’s phone.

Continue reading Google+ sneaks NFC into its Android app, gets caught red-handed

Google+ sneaks NFC into its Android app, gets caught red-handed originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 06 Jul 2011 10:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nokia 700 ‘Zeta’ gets classy, dresses in white for leaked press shots

Representing a letter of the Greek alphabet can be a daunting task. The Nokia 700 “Zeta,” however, is busy getting primed for the massive duty on hand, indicated by a pair of possible press shots that surfaced from Indian site KnowYourMobile. A comparison of these new pics with the spyshots grabbed last week show very little difference besides the obvious color change, with the 1GHz, Symbian Belle-powered Zeta opting for a white front and chrome back instead of the black and candy-apple combo we saw previously. This could mean that, like many Nokia handsets before it, a rainbow of various hues will be available to choose from the moment the device launches. We sure hope that’s soon, because nobody wears white after Labor Day.

[Thanks, Mark]

Nokia 700 ‘Zeta’ gets classy, dresses in white for leaked press shots originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 05 Jul 2011 20:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink TheNokiaBlog  |  sourceKnowYourMobile India  | Email this | Comments

Nokia 700 ‘Zeta’ caught in spyshots, ready to give mobile makeovers

While we’re busy recovering from a recent overdose of Nokia eye candy, secret agents are hard at work hunting down more visual goodness for us to ogle at. These shots above are of the Nokia 700 “Zeta,” which appears to be a replacement to the C6-01. The photos show it running on Symbian Belle — Anna’s successor — and packed with a 5 megapixel camera, LED flash, and NFC support. The source indicates the Zeta will house a 1 GHz CPU and 3.2-inch nHD AMOLED display, weighs a smidge over 80g, and measures out at 10mm thick. Oddly enough, we dug up a leaked snapshot of the Zeta’s spec sheet claiming it’ll be the “thinnest smartphone ever,” which at 10mm isn’t anywhere close to earning that title.

Though no other phones were pictured, the spec sheet (shown below) brought attention to three other Symbian offerings on the roadmap: the Nokia 701 Helen has the best specs of the bunch with 8 megapixel camera and 3.5-inch ClearBlack display; there’s the Nokia 600 Cindy with NFC, 5 megapixel shooter, and 3.2-inch AMOLED; also, we’ve likely seen the Nokia 500 Fate already leaked as the N5. There’s no indication on when (or if) we can expect any of these phones to hit the market, but it looks like Mr. Elop is intent on keeping his promise. More photos after the break.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Continue reading Nokia 700 ‘Zeta’ caught in spyshots, ready to give mobile makeovers

Nokia 700 ‘Zeta’ caught in spyshots, ready to give mobile makeovers originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 29 Jun 2011 09:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Reg Hardware  |  sourceGSM Arena, Flashfly  | Email this | Comments

BlackBerry Bold 9900 preview! (video)

RIM’s BlackBerry 9900 is the device that the BlackBerry diehards have been hoping, wishing, and waiting for since the original Bold launched way back in 2008. However, this time around the company has added in a capacitive touchscreen, swapped the trackball of yesteryear for an optical trackpad, and slimmed the whole thing down into a 10.5mm thick package. We were lucky enough to get a prototype device from our friends over at Negri Electronics, and have manhandled the thing till we were blue in the face. Head on past the break for an exclusive preview of the device RIM is praying will stalwart its competitors until the first round of QNX-equipped devices lands in 2012.

Continue reading BlackBerry Bold 9900 preview! (video)

BlackBerry Bold 9900 preview! (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 24 Jun 2011 14:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nokia N9 to ship in Sweden on September 23rd, saith awkwardly translated release

Nokia N9 to ship in Sweden on September 23rd

As much as we love Google Translate, we’re pretty sure the Nokia N9 won’t be packing a side of gorilla flavored desert when it ships later this year — but that Swedish release date? Sure, we’ll take a salty look. According to an official press release from European carrier 3 Group, Nokia’s flagship handset should be landing in Sweden on September 23, 2011. The PR goes on to tout the N9’s buttonless interface, trio of home screens, and (when properly translated) Gorilla Glass AMOLED screen. Hit the source link to see the PR, in all it’s auto-translated glory, for yourself.

Nokia N9 to ship in Sweden on September 23rd, saith awkwardly translated release originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 22 Jun 2011 14:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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NetSecure Kudos Payments announced for Canada, is the half-circle to Square

Canada may be moving to polymer-based currency, but mobile payment services like Square — which cater to classic plastic — haven’t yet taken time to trek to the Great White North. NetSecure is looking to offer similar convenience to the region with its new Kudos Payments service, which just so happens to ship with a shockingly curvy swiping dongle. Similar to Square, it creates a secure ‘point of sale‘ without a hard-wired transaction terminal, and charges a slightly higher 2.9-percent fee to users’ accounts for each exchange. Kudos has iOS, Android, and Blackberry apps to tap into the functionality and, even a version for Mac and PC — in other words, you and yours should be suitably covered. Any roving entrepreneurs who are interested in the service will be able to snag the $49.99 kit free of charge from the company’s website for a “limited time,” which may or may not expire before Google decides to open its own Wallet a few miles kilometers north.

Continue reading NetSecure Kudos Payments announced for Canada, is the half-circle to Square

NetSecure Kudos Payments announced for Canada, is the half-circle to Square originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 22 Jun 2011 13:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceKudos Payments  | Email this | Comments