Tag: nfc technology

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.”

Samsung has some ambitious plans for the future

This year has been a very powerful year for the mobile sector, but 2013 may be even more so, at least that is what Samsung is predicting. The mobile technology giant has big plans for 2013, many of which have yet to be unveiled. Over the past year, Samsung has made significant strides in establishing its dominance in the mobile space, especially with the recent launch of the Galaxy S III. In 2013, Samsung will be working to distance itself from what it considers to be its most significant competitor: Apple.

Samsung rivalry with Apple expected to heat up in 2013

Samsung and Apple have been entrenched in a volatile rivalry that has spanned years. Earlier this year, the two companies finalized a lawsuit, the results of which took both Samsung and Apple down a peg in the eyes of consumers and investors. Samsung has managed to fortify itself against Apple in recent months, and part of this involves increasing its production of mobile devices. In 2013, Samsung will ramp up production by 20%, with plans to ship at  least 510 million new mobile devices over the next year.

Company plans to ship at least 390 million smart phones

Approximately 390 of these mobile devices are expected to be smart phones. A portion of these will be equipped with NFC technology, which is also included in the Galaxy S III. This technology has been well received by consumers because of its ability to facilitate wireless data sharing. The technology is also widely used in the mobile commerce space, where it can make payments from a mobile device possible.

Apple will not be going down without a fight

Samsung predicts that the demand for smart phones may diminish over the next 12 months as the market becomes over-saturated. Despite this potential problem, the company has plans to continue developing and shipping devices that are meant to provide consumers with a viable alternative to Apple products. Apple itself has very ambitious plans for 2013 and the two companies are expected to continue butting heads as they vie for dominance in the mobile space.