Category: Featured News

This year will make it much easier for consumers in Australia to make purchases using smartphones.

Telcos in Australia are giving a significant kick to their intentions to bring mobile payments to consumers throughout the country so that they will be able to use their smartphones or tablets to pay for products or services at a store’s checkout counter.

This could be the first step toward making credit cards obsolete within the country.

Although mobile payments are a move that has been in the works for several years and very little action has actually been seen until very recently. Even the most recent steps have not been enormous, and the term “contactless payments” remains unknown to the majority of consumers, even among those whose devices are capable of the transactions.

Though the contactless mobile payments concept has great potential, it has been failing to gain traction.

The idea behind mobile payments is quite simple. It involves using a smartphone or tablet that is either waved over an enabled reader at a point of sale in a store, or tapped against it. This automatically transfers the funds necessary for making the purchase from the user’s credit card or bank account, into the account of the store.

The primary barrier faced by this type of mobile payments is the fact that only a small percentage of smartphones are actually enabled with the necessary NFC technology (near field communication) that allow these transactions to occur. This was held back even further by the release of the iPhone 5 by Apple, which shocked the mobile world when those chips were notably absent.

Vodafone and Telstra believe that this year will mark a difference in this trend. They believe that with many more NFC technology enabled devices entering the marketplace, it will represent a brand new opportunity for mobile payments to take off.

According to Dr. Hugh Bradlow, the chief technology officer at Telstra, “It’s been promised for a long time, but by next year many devices on the market will incorporate near field communication.” He went on to explain that in the mobile payments marketplace, “NFC has been a slow burn, but it will likely become entrenched next year and we plan to be a big part of that.”

Microsoft rumors hint at future Xbox devices

There have been rumors circulating concerning Microsoft’s plans for the future of console gaming. The famed technology company has been stirring the proverbial pot with vague news regarding the Xbox 720, the next generation gaming console that is expected to be released at some point in 2013. Much of the information that surrounds the new console comes in the form of rumor, however, and the nature of rumors means that some of this information is able to garner a significant amount of attention.

Mobile gaming catches the eye of Microsoft

It is no secret that Microsoft has invested heavily in the mobile technology sector. The company is behind Windows Phone, after all. Microsoft’s interest in this sector expands beyond just mobile devices, however, as the company has a keen focus on mobile gaming. Rumors suggest that Microsoft is gearing to take its interest in mobile devices and gaming to the next level with the development of an Xbox tablet and Xbox smart phone.

Xbox tablet may be in the works

If the rumors are accurate, the Xbox tablet could be another avenue through which Microsoft engages mobile consumers. The company has already hinted at the possibility of incorporating mobile devices into the Xbox platform through the introduction of Smart Glass. The Xbox 720 may have profound support for mobile devices, such as tablets, that could allow the platform to provide gamers with a wide assortment of mobile games that they can take wherever they go. The tablet may also be able to play games that have traditionally been exclusive to the console platform.

Company may be developing new smart phone with Xbox capabilities

Microsoft is already known to be working on a new smart phone that it plans to enter into the market within the next few years. The device is referred to as the Surface Phone and will boast of various features that may make it competitive in the current market. Whether it will have Xbox capabilities has yet to be confirmed, but Microsoft has shown some interest in incorporating a smart phone device into the Xbox platform.