Tag: mobile nfc

The growth of the use of this tech has been quite slow but people are adopting near field communication.

It has been slightly over one year since mobile payments companies, such as banks and network operators, had been doing everything they could to make sure that they had worked NFC technology into their systems so that they would be able to keep up with what they felt was an overwhelmingly large opportunity as enabled devices would flood the marketplace.

They were under the impression that Apple would soon be releasing an enabled device.

Since that time, several Apple devices have been launched and not one of them has included the NFC technology that had been anticipated. Though the preparations for near field communications had skyrocketed, and the tech had been worked into everything from mobile wallets to marketing, the growth of the penetration of the actual devices occurred much more slowly than anticipated.

iPhones still do not feature NFC technology among their options and companies have had to look to other avenues.

Google Wallet, Isis, and even MasterCard have all recently announced that although they have not abandoned their use of NFC technology, they are implementing additional methods in order to make sure that their services would be accessible by a larger number of consumers. For the most part, this has meant that QR codes – the two dimensional barcodes that had once been believed to have limited days left because of the upcoming popularity of near field communication tech – have been added to these massive systems.

That said, it appears that all is not lost for NFC technology. The majority of the latest Android smartphones do contain these chips and as they start to spread throughout the world – and dominate the shipments of smartphones on a global scale – it has meant that systems relating to this tech are starting to launch. Though they haven’t taken off at the rate that had been initially expected, they are now experiencing a healthy, moderate growth.

In fact, according to Strategy Analytics market research, though the expectations for the demand for NFC technology have been reduced, it is still estimated that by the end of 2017, payments using this tech will have reached $48 billion.

The company is also prepping for the use of Bluetooth 4.0 LE for the use of this new feature.

A large number of industry giants have made every effort they could to try to popularize the use of NFC technology, but have seen very limited success until now.

Nokia is hoping that its latest project will turn that trend in a more positive direction.

The mobile device manufacturer has announced that it is coming out with a new Bluetooth accessory called a “Treasure Tag”, which will allow device users to apply NFC technology to tracking items from their enabled smartphones. The accessory’s development was recently funded by a Kickstarter project that functions on the Apple iPhone.

The concept behind the new feature is an NFC technology compatible tile that can be paired with devices.

The Treasure Tag helps to feature the state of the art Bluetooth Low Energy tech from Nokia, although the NFC technology based tag can be paired with any smartphone based on Windows Phone that is enabled with near field communications tech. The pairing requires a Windows Phone 8 app in order to be completed.

The app in question is built onto the LiveSight AR tech from Nokia. When it is installed onto a smartphone based on Windows 8, it allows its users to manage the NFC technology sensor and be able to track that accessory if it goes missing. The app also provides the sensor’s location on a map.

Users are also capable of using the NFC technology tag to track a lost smartphone that has been paired with its sensor by holding down a key on the device. This will trigger the associated device to make a sound. This feature does require the device to be within the tracking and hearing range of the accessory but it will certainly help to recover a device from a given coat pocket in the closet or from between sofa cushions. When the device is just out of sight, it can be rediscovered much more easily in this way.

The NFC technology and Bluetooth device uses batteries that will keep it powered for a period of six months.