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NFC Technology – Everything You Need To Know

March 1, 2012 by Raj Agrawal 1 Comment

UPCOMING TECHNOLOGY – NFC Technology (Near Field Communication Technology) will bring in the ‘next level’ convenience and sensibility to the way we exchange information. This technology can easily be scaled up to many areas of applicability, which is what makes it another add-on into the list of ‘Next-Big-Things’. Now, lets look at some of the key aspects of NFC Technology including what it is, how it works, NFC in the market place and it’s future.

nfc-technology-bluebite — *Image credit – BlueBite*

What is NFC?

NFC stands for Near Field Communication and as the name suggests, the key for this technology lies in devices being in close proximity or contact with each other. Once devices have established the proximity, which is enabled very quickly (0.1 sec), the communication is enabled. The distances in terms for NFC must be very small, usually less than an inch and as such it is different from comparable communications like Wi-Fi and Bluetooth for which there are natural comparisons.

**How NFC Technology works**

Near field Communication operates through short wave radio transmission. Devices that operate NFC technology like smartphones or PDAs, are equipped with an NFC chip. The process of communication between the chip in one device and the chip in another device is an electronic process called inductive coupling. This coupling is a development of an earlier technology, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID). With RFID, the technology had a ‘send and receive’ process and was used in a one directional format. NFC takes this process to the next level and allows two way communication between NFC Technology enabled devices.

NFC in the Marketplace

The current scope of NFC services is in its infancy in terms of market launch and proliferation. The global range of the product is sporadic and there are a variety of test locations which have embraced this technology, the key markets of USA and Japan are showing a steadily growing rise in the number of transactions as the technology takes hold. In recent surveys, a growing number of people have stated that they would much rather pay using their phone than carry cash. The scope is of demand is being trialled in some key market areas in Europe and Asia with a growing body of evidence revealing general product in performance in France, South Korea, Turkey, United Kingdom and Tanzania.

France offers the earliest evidence of information with NFC technology in operation, during the early May 2010. There, NFC has been used for purchases of civil services like transportation information and ticketing, similar services have been used for the system in South Korea from later in that same year. More recent progress of the technology can be seen in Turkey where, from early 2011 in Turkey up to 55,000 separate retail processes could be operated using the system. A more limited facility (15,000 outlets) mainly through banks and mobile phone companies has been in evidence in the UK through 2011 and Tanzania.

The statistical data on the number of Near Field Communication transactions globally illustrates a growing trend for usage, but one which is only at the tip of the iceberg if general predictions are to be believed. According to statistics released by Juniper Research Visa has issued 20,000,000 NFC enabled cards and Google Wallet can currently operate at 311,000 locations globally. Predictions for the number of transactions to be made using NFC devices over the coming couple of years show a sharp increase to a plausible 50,000,000 global transactions by 2014. The bulk of these will occur in Europe, US and Asia.

Brands already incorporating NFC

It is also estimated the more than 1/10th of the smart phones sold globally were NFC ready devices with many of the major brands including Blackberry, Nokia, Google and Samsung employing the technology in a range of their handsets. In addition to the handsets. the technology is a part of MasterCard and it can even be found in the Wii controller. Although this claim is yet to be verified, it is rumoured that Apple has come on board and has planned to have NFC as part of iPhone 5 and iPad 3.

Emerging markets

The growth of NFC technology is not limited to developed markets either with the rise in usage occurring in a number of emerging markets. A recent report for Financial Firm Citigroup stated that there were,

40 million mobile money users exist in Africa – the lion’s share of this is attributable to the over 20 million users of Safaricom’s M-Pesa offering in Kenya.
A further report by Communications Commission of Kenya highlighted this growing trend,
The continued growth is an indication of subscribers’ preference to mobile money transfer, which could be attributed to accessibility and affordability even to low-income earners who form the bulk of the unbanked population.

The Future of NFC

Near Field Communication is here and set to be the next big thing. Watch out for stores in your locality promoting the use of paying by handset. With key players like Google and Apple preparing themselves for this market, it is inevitable that the NFC Technology (with the era beginning with NFC Phones) will become a part of our society.

5 Most Expensive Mobile Phones, Talk About Super Villains!

February 3, 2012 by Raj Agrawal Leave a Comment

Browsing through reviews of the numerous luxury smartphones which have recently become available, you notice a certain word repeated often: INSANE. It seems there is no cap on the level of luxury and the corresponding price demanded for bespoke handsets, even though many of them offer less functionality than their conventional counterparts. Strong demand from abroad has meant that while UK retail sales figures have been in slight decline since 2008, the trade in luxury goods has remained consistent. If, like most of the populace, you have no idea what this means, but like shiny things nonetheless, check out this selection of luxury smartphones.

Motorola Aura Diamond Edition (£3,500) appx र 2,25,526

Released in early 2009, the handset represents an update to the already extravagant Aura, featuring 18-carat gold-plating and 34 round-cut diamonds. While its appeal is in its eye-catching appearance, discerning users may be disappointed to find that the relatively low asking price means that the handset lacks GPS, 3G and Wi-fi connectivity.

Not for you? Why not consider buying 10,000 exercise books for school children in Africa (via UNICEF).

Vertu Constellation Quest (£17,300) appx र 11,14,121

While there are in fact two cheaper versions of the Constellation Quest available, you’re probably interested in the top-of-the-line yellow gold edition. Offering similar functionality to the Nokia E63 (Vertu was a subsidiary of the Finnish giants) the luxury elements consist of a built-in analogue clock and Vertu’s unique concierge function: accessed through a dedicated button, subscribers are put in touch with their own lifestyle manager, who’ll assist with the sort of day-to-day challenges that being disgustingly rich presents. And it’s gold, obviously.

You may equally be interested in a brand new, spacious Mercedes A-Class for the same money.

Sony Ericsson Black Diamond (£162,162) appx र 10,363,754

Dreamt up by Singaporean designer Jaren Goh, the ultra-modern Black Diamond wasn’t actually encrusted with diamonds, but seemingly attracted enough interest to reach the development phase nonetheless. The design is breathtaking, offering a borderless OLED screen, 4MP camera and…presumably other things (following initial hype, the buzz faltered, suggesting that the phone has been marketed exclusively to secretive super villains, or that it was just a big joke).

Not convinced? Why not hire the entire country of Lichtenstein for 4 nights?

Gresso Luxor Las Vegas Jackpot (£641,000) appx र 4,08,99,743

With keys made from individually polished sapphires, a back consisting of 200 year-old African blackwood and a pure gold chassis encrusted with black diamonds, this lavish handset is the epitome of super-luxury. With only two being made, the handset might actually appreciate in value, representing a sensible investment. Perhaps.

No? You may also be interested in acquiring a bloody house or two instead.

Stuart Hughes iPhone 4S Elite Gold (£6,000,000) appx र 38,28,36,916

The self-proclaimed “world’s most expensive phone”, this handset features, among other things, several hundred flawless diamonds. The broader package includes a solid platinum presentation chest set with polished pieces of genuine T-rex bone and even comes with spare diamonds, in case you’re the kind of person who’s prone to losing diamonds. Unlike other phones in this list, it also has features consistent with those you’d expect for a modern smartphone, which practically renders it a steal at £6 million.

You could alternatively, buy 600,000 regular smartphones, but what would be the point in that?

Failed Apple Products – Top 5 Picks

December 16, 2011 by Raj Agrawal Leave a Comment

Apple Inc. is known for it’s high quality products and the hype it creates during it’s product launches. There was a time when products like the Macintosh and Apple II captivated consumers. Recently the company has increased its consumer base with elegant and attractive products such as the iPod, iPhone and iPad (According to June 2011 stats, Apple sold 200 million iOS devices, including 25 million iPads). Despite the success of these products, there are others that did not do quite well.

Failed Apple Products

One of the very first products designed by Apple, Apple II, proved quite a hit with consumers and was very successful. The company decided to research and hence developed Apple III. The product was introduced in 1980 but was a commercial failure due to stability problems. This failure forced Apple to cancel the production of the product. The failure of Apple III was also influenced by the competition from IBM computers and the high price tag placed on Apple III. Apple III is first in the line up of failed Apple products.

Apple Lisa was a personal computer developed in the 1980’s featuring a graphical user interface. When it was introduced into the market, a single computer went for $10, 000 which was way out of reach of ordinary consumers. Although the product had innovative features targeted at business consumers, its price was too high. After poor sales, Apple decided to discontinue Lisa in 1986 and destroyed thousands of Lisa computers.

In 1996, Apple in conjunction with a Japan based gaming company launched the Apple Bandai Pippin. The Apple pippin was touted by the company as one of its kind multimedia and gaming device. The product featured a CD-ROM drive and users could play games from the Macintosh and Pippin. The device could also be connected to the internet. However, when the product was eventually released the gaming market was crowded with other products such as the Nintendo, Sega Saturn and PlayStation. The company only sold 42,000 units of the product.

In 2005, Apple worked with Motorola to launch the Motorola ROKR E1. With this product, Apple intended to bring iTunes to smartphones. Although the market was ready for such a product, Motorola ROKR E1 only allowed users to transfer 100 music tracks at a time. It also featured numerous menus that made transferring of music slow and tedious. The product’s demise was quickened when Apple introduced the iPod Nano, which forced Motorola not to integrate future version of the smartphone with the iTunes platform.

This made a recent entry into the trailing list of failed apple products. Apple TV did not last long in the market. By the time it was introduced the company was riding over a wave of success with the popularity of several products such as the iPod and iTunes among others. The idea behind Apple TV was for it to be a content streamer. Apple intended users to connect the device with their computer so that they could have access to a personal video recorder or TV turner. The failure of the product is attributed to the fact that it had a limited video format and that Apple could not make a deal with content providers.

Statistical Data[BGR]

Image Credit[Wikipedia]