NFC

9to5Google played with Sony’s official James Bond smartphone, the Xperia TL, last month at a media event in New York City, but now the rest of the world can experience the 007 action starting Nov. 2.

Sony just announced the ICS-powered smartphone would land on AT&T for $99.99 with a two-year contract. For a reminder as to what this 4.55-inch LTE and NFC-capable device boasts, check out our brief hands-on. More information regarding the phone’s Bond connection and upcoming AT&T debut is in the press release below.

Oh, and Sony previously promised a Jelly Bean upgrade would come “soon.” Yeah, not too specific.

YouTube video after the break, too.

Expand
Expanding
Close

BusinessInsider pointed us to an interesting update to the Google Wallet website today: Google is now advertising “the next version” of its mobile wallet app and providing a link a to request an invite. The website has a link to “Request an invite” for when the new version is ready, but even more interesting is what happens after users do so. After clicking the link, Google asks users to select the type of mobile device they use. The three options include: Android, iOS, and Other.

There is no details regarding what might be included in the next generation of the Wallet service, but many are speculating Google might have plans to extend some portion of the Google Wallet app to iOS and possibly other devices. An iPhone version of Google Wallet would of course not include the NFC capabilities that have limited the service to select Android devices, but perhaps it could provide some type of integration with Apple’s Passbook feature on iOS? We have requested an invite to the new version of Wallet, and we will keep you updated when we learn more.

Google also announced today that Google Wallet is now available to Galaxy S III users on MetroPCS:

[tweet https://twitter.com/googlewallet/status/260476513567256576]

Expand
Expanding
Close

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VuFVsaFCzsw&feature=player_embedded]

Google Wallet is now cloud-based, supports any type of credit or debit card, and it is safer than ever before thanks to secure storage and remote disabling.

U.S. carriers are extremely stingy about letting Google put the Wallet app on its own operating system. While Sprint and its Virgin subsidiary have Google Wallet enabled on most of their new Android phones, Verizon has outright banned it—even on the Galaxy Nexus. AT&T and T-Mobile, which, with Verizon, are part of the competing ISIS Wallet standard. Both refuse to carry phones that use Google Wallet, but you can buy an unsubsidized GSM Galaxy Nexus that works on both networks just fine.

Google seems to have found another way around the ban, according to the the official Google Commerce blog:

“Today we’re releasing a new, cloud-based version of the Google Wallet app that supports all credit and debit cards from Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover. Now, you can use any card when you shop in-store or online with Google Wallet. With the new version, you can also remotely disable your mobile wallet app from your Google Wallet account on the web.”

Google Wallet is simple: Card information is entered on the app, or on its new online wallet and Google Play, and manageable transaction records for in-store and online purchases appear on the phone (and now the Web!) immediately after payment use.

Google also instantly charges the selected credit or debit card. Well, when a user pays, the virtual card is transmitted to the merchant, but then the back-end charges the selected card. Note: It does not directly charge the card, because it is a proxy card.

Expand
Expanding
Close

Although the official introduction video for Google’s new Nexus 7 tablet leaked before the announcement, the company just unveiled the 7-inch device on-stage at its Google I/O keynote. While announcing the device’s specs (listed below), the company gave a number of demos for the Nexus 7’s UI, including a content recommendation page, Gmail, YouTube, Chrome (first device to ship with Chrome as default, stock browser), and a full-featured Google Maps with offline mode. Google also gave a demo of the 12-core GPU in action with some impressive 3D games, as pictured above.

Pre-orders start on Google Play today for $199 (8GB) or $249 (16GB), with the device shipping to the United States and Canada in mid-July alongside Jelly Bean.

• -1,080-by-800HD display
• -Tegra 3, Quad-core CPU
• -12-core GPU
• -4325 mAh battery- 9 hours video playback, 300 hours standby
• -Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, NFC, compass, gyroscope, accelerometer
• -1.2 megapixel front-facing camera
• -340 grams

Expand
Expanding
Close

Virgin Mobile just announced the LG Optimus Elite, a 3.5-inch Android 2.3 device featuring a 5-megapixel camera and 800 MHz processor, as its first device with NFC and Google Wallet. The device will officially go on sale on May 15 for $250 and is already available for pre-order (here).

Google confirmed Google Wallet was headed to Virgin late last month with the LG Optimus Elite, which is also available through Sprint alongside the Google Wallet-enabled Galaxy Nexus and LG Viper 4G.

The full press release from Virgin is below:

Expand
Expanding
Close

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=7bcWle-UA-M]

Social check-in network Foursquare updated its Android app to encompass Android Beam and Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich support.

NFC support on Android products, dubbed the “Android Beam” P2P service, allows devices to exchange data through a small tap/wave gesture over short distances. Foursquare’s upgrade subsequently gives users with Android 4 smartphones the ability to share social discovery information by tapping any two NFC-enabled devices together, and the app embraces NFC tag-reading capabilities for check in’s. NFC is available on Foursquare’s Venue, Lists and Me pages.

“The user experience is great. You just hold your phone against the tap [point]. The check-in screen automatically pops up with the right venue. You’re basically shaving very valuable seconds off the check-in process,” said Foursquare’s Vice President of Mobile International Holger Luedorf during a recent Untether.tv audio interview…

Expand
Expanding
Close

In a move to combat Amazon’s dominance in the delivery of physical products, Google is said to be in talks with “major retailers and shippers” to create their own rival service, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal. The companies that are reportedly considering partnering with Google — Macy’s, OfficeMax, and Gap Inc– are some of the same that recently signed up to integrate the company’s Google Wallet NFC platform into their retail locations. Google’s service will compete directly with Amazon’s Prime, which offers same-day or next-day shipping on all of their products.

Google plans to meld an existing product-search feature that directs shoppers to retail websites with a new quick-shipping service that the Internet giant will oversee. The quick-shipping service will be based on a Google behind-the-scenes system that allows shoppers to figure out whether stores have a product in stock and that allows them to find out whether they can get that product shipped to them within a day.

Amazon has seen huge success with their $79 a year Prime program. Not only do customers get expedited shipping on products, but get added bonuses on Amazon’s Kindle Fire when it comes to media downloads and their MP3 store. The report mentions that Google has talked to UPS to also partner in the program.

It’s not clear if the program will cost a subscription fee like Amazon Prime, or if it will be offered free through the help of their partnerships. Google seems to like to stick with the free model more than anything, so I wouldn’t discount the possibility.

Expand
Expanding
Close

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DsaJMhcLm_A]

First they made a video testimonial featuring a bunch of excited developers. Last week brought us a promo clip they first played back to journalists who attended presser in May. Then came the first official Google Wallet commercial featuring Seinfeld’s George Constanza and his exploding wallet. Today, the search company has officially rolled out Wallet, a mobile payment service.

As you can see from the clip we embedded above, it features Google engineers highlighting the many benefits of paying simply by tapping your phone to a terminal. One thing immediately captures attention: The “hundreds of thousands” of points of sale which support Google Wallet, all MasterCard PayPass terminals. Google promised at the May unveiling they would support more smartphones with an NFC chip in the future, not ruling out  a next-gen iPhone. Today, the company wrote in a blog post:

Today, Visa, Discover and American Express have made available their NFC specifications that could enable their cards to be added to future versions of Google Wallet.

If you’re a Sprint customer with a Nexus S 4G device, the Google Wallet app will be delivered as an over the air update. Just tap the Wallet app on your home screen, add your Citi MasterCard credit card or set up a Google Prepaid Card and transfer some funds to it from any of your credit cards and off you go.

Early adopters who set up a Google Prepaid Card before the year’s end also get a $10 free bonus. When you see the Google Wallet logo on a poster, simply scan it with your phone to add the advertised offer or coupon to your Google Wallet account. The below walkthrough by TechCrunch lays out everything you need to know about Google Wallet in Layman’s terms. Good-bye wallet, the phone will take it from here and another from ThisIsMyNext…
Expand
Expanding
Close

According to a report from Bloomberg, three of the largest mobile carriers in the US are getting ready to make a $100 million investment in NFC enabled payment system ‘Isis’. This is seen as a move to take some of the $240 billion a year (according to Juniper Research) mobile payment market from Google and, specifically, Google Wallet.

While Isis won’t begin testing the technology until next year, they have already signed up Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover. Google Wallet has been up and running on Android devices since May but is only available through MasterCard and Citibank with MasterCard Paypass. Having support from Visa, the “world’s largest credit card network”, will certainly give Isis an advantage in the U.S. market.

Expand
Expanding
Close

When you pay with your phone, it automatically redeems offers and earns loyalty points for you

Boom, Google Wallet has gone live at the just-finished presser in Google’s New York office. The search Goliath means business, that’s for sure. They’ve managed to convince the journos like us who have seen it all that Google Wallet is no toy. We have here an end-to-end mobile payment solution which quite possibly marks an inflection point in e-commerce. I ain’t drinking Google’s Kool-Aid, bear with me for a sec.

There are two pieces to it: Google Wallet itself, which runs as a native app on your mobile device equipped with an NFC chip, and Google Offers, a Groupon-like service providing rebates, savings and offers that can be easily redeemed on your device, at the points of sale. One click on an offer on the web sends the coupon over-the-air to your devices authorized for Google Wallet. You can also use your device’s camera to snap the Google Offers icon found on printed marketing materials such as in-store posters, banners, print ads and so forth.

Paying for goods is a one-tap affair involving waving your device in front of the wireless payment terminal at participating merchants. The transaction is processed within seconds and directly settled with your issuing bank. In addition, your device negotiates with the merchant’s terminal to automatically redeem offers and earn loyalty points for you. Someday, Google boldly proclaimed, stuff like boarding passes, tickets, ID and keys will be stored in your Google Wallet. You will also get electronic receipts that will eliminate bills on paper. Looking good so far. What’s the catch?

The keynote demonstration had Google’s speaker buying a shorts for his daughter. He waived the phone and the clerk’s terminal took into account his loyalty card and automatically deducted his saved coupon. The live transaction was handled successfully in the second try.

Expand
Expanding
Close