simple. For example, the study noted that receiving transactions “should be even more automated. For example, “participants liked the simplicity of transactions that were initiated just by holding the mobile phone to an NFCenabled reader. However, for sending applications, such as selling a ticket to a friend, users may prefer to initiate the transaction with a command.”
he should touch or not touch so there’s a real need of showing where to touch.” In other words, as the study pointed out, “Users did not want to guess where and how to orient their mobile phones to complete a transaction.”
Even after showing the users how to handle and manipulate the transaction, they still had trouble figuring out where to place the phone over the reader. “One of the results was a need for a clear and consistent marker,” said Mr. Prato. “The consumer would look where
What happens with a lost NFC-enabled phone? “That’s one of the questions I get asked often,” said Mr. Prato. “If you lose your credit card, anyone can use that card ... the damage could be high. (But) having your card in the phone, no one can see the number.”
In Europe, for example, the “first application taking off using NFC phones is (transit) ticketing. In Europe, they’re fully aware of contactless for mass transportation so it is easy to move from card to phone...very easy,” he added. Philips also has tests underway in Italy “that we’ll announce (later) this summer,” he suggests. “I think NFC will take off by the end of the year and we expect to go commercial in the U.S. by the end of the year.”
2006 to be the Year of Near Field Communication Christophe Duverne Vice President, Sales and Marketing, Identification, Philips Semiconductorsor 2006 promises to be the year of near field communication (NFC). With live trials underway now in France, Germany and the United States, consumers are getting an idea of what the near-term future holds for them. NFC technology is set to drastically change the dynamics of consumer electronics by opening up a myriad of new business and application opportunities. It will significantly impact the way consumers shop, travel and exchange data. It will change the way handset manufacturers, operators, suppliers and content providers work together and enable new business models and profit opportunities. And most importantly, it will change the way consumers use their mobile phones forever, enabling them to do things they never thought possible, like entering a sports stadium with an electronic ticket on their mobile phone, or pay for their groceries using their mobile phones at checkout. The possibilities are immense.
In the City of Caen in France, Philips, France Telecom, Orange, Samsung and retailers Group LaSer and Vinci Park kicked off a major multi-application NFC trial. During the six month trial, 200 Caen residents will use Samsung D500 NFC-enabled mobile phones as a means of secure payment in selected retail stores and parking facilities as well as to download information about famous tourist sites and bus schedules.
Numerous field trials are being deployed around the world so key players throughout the value chain can best understand how consumers react to this technology.
Mobile payment and transactions with NFC exploit two basic principles of modern society: everyone needs to pay for products and everyday services and just about everyone carries a phone. Results from these worldwide implementations are demonstrating that consumers everywhere like the convenience of mobile payment.
In April 2005, Philips, Nokia and German public transport network operator Rhein-Main Verkehrsverbund (RMV) began to trial an NFC ticketing solution that allows RMV’s customers to use NFC-enabled Nokia 3220 phones to buy, store and use tickets around the bus network in the city of Hanau, near Frankfurt.
Another trial just kicked off this month, signifying the first major trial of NFC in North America takes place at the Philips Arena stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. In this trial, sports fans can easily buy goods at concession stands and apparel stores using their NFC-enabled mobiles. They can also access and download mobile content such as ringtones, wallpapers, screensavers and clips from favorite players and artists by holding their NFC phones in front of a poster embedded with an NFC tag.
The technology is there, the consumer interest is there, the infrastructure is there. All that’s needed now is more imagination to devise more innovative applications and operators to facilitate more roll-outs.
Fall 2006
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ContactlessNews
Added Mr. Prato: “They liked the fact there was less interaction, that you don’t need to select the application.”
The study involved phones, “with vibration; so they knew the transaction went thru,” he said. “You didn’t need to watch the display. Another possibility is providing a text message confirmation.”
Mr. Prato thinks that NFC, because of its cell phone compatibility, could help “drive contactless technology in the U.S. There are more than 30 million contactless cards in the U.S. now which is one of the reasons we did this here in the U.S. with Visa.”