Overjoid

NFC FOR ALL?

By seaempty. Thursday, January 12, 2012 8:59:36 PM

Although I don't use the NFC function of my phone I REALLY LIKE IT. It annoys me that a/. it might not actually work, and b/. there's practically no sign of it being used in a way I can take advantage of it in any meaningful way in the UK.

The technology is only in a handful of phones, however, and although it's becoming more prominent, it'll be a while until it's really mainstream.

Moneto are looking to address this, however, and have created a system whereby the NFC technology is built into an SD card. This means that anyone who has a MicroSD card slot in their phone should be able to use NFC.

Granted, you have to use the accompanying Moneto app, and it therefore has limited use, but it's a start, right? Further details can be found on the original Android Police blog post.

APP UPDATE: GOOGLE SEARCHMOTOROLA ANNOUNCES JCB PHONE

Comments

Robbiemoirob # Friday, January 13, 2012 8:46:12 AM

My bank card has a NFC chip in it. Pretty sure the only place I know that uses the technology (in the UK) at the moment is McDonalds.
Would you like fries with that?

Patrick O'Reillypaddy2k # Friday, January 13, 2012 9:43:26 AM

The other issue with such a solution is that lots of new smartphones come with unibody metallic cases, which kill the NFC signal. An Irish loyalty card scheme, Zapatag use NFC chips as stickers on the back of phones. When I tried putting it inside the plastic cover of my old Hero, it totally killed the (NFC) signal.

slackwrdave # Saturday, January 14, 2012 4:15:29 PM

I haven't used NFC yet, but the only places near my house (in US) that use it are McDonalds and a BP gas station. It sounds interesting, but I'm not up for trying it unless the place is empty and there is time to fumble.

I'll have some fries with Robbie.