NFC in select Nokia smartphones next year

Published by Rafe Blandford at 21:25 UTC, June 17th 2010

Speaking at the MobeyForum conference, Nokia's Anssi Vanjoki has reaffirmed the company's commitment to NFC (Near Field Communication) technology. Starting from 2011, Nokia's global Symbian smartphone portfolio will begin to include NFC functionality. However it may, or may not, be included in all country variants. NFC is a short range (~10cm), high frequency wireless communication technology; the major uses are likely to be in Bluetooth pairing, reading RFID tags (e.g. smart posters), mobile ticketing (e.g. London's Oyster system) and mobile payment (contactless payment). 

Nokia and NFC

Nokia has produced a number of Series 40 handset with NFC functionality (Nokia 6131 and Nokia 6212) built in. These have been used in a number of trials for both mobile ticketing and mobile payment.

Nokia is not making a commitment to include NFC in all of its smartphones in 2011 (as reported elsewhere). Rather it is saying that it will start to introduce it into its smartphone portfolio in 2011. As with other technologies that Nokia has introduced in recent years (e.g. GPS), it will likely first appear in high-end devices and then trickle down to lower end devices over time. 

In order for NFC to be secured (vital for some in the use cases outlined above), additional hardware is needed, which effectively acts as the security and identity module. There are currently three main approaches that are being considered. Firstly, using the SIM card (also known as SWP), secondly using an NFC-enabled  memory card (microSD) and thirdly using a module embedded in the phone (previously used by Nokia). Nokia is currently evaluating these different approaches, and is not disclosing, at the current time, which it will use in its forthcoming NFC implementations.

NFC is scheduled to be one of the new features in the Symbian^4 platform. It was originally targeted for inclusion in Symbian^3, but was pushed back to the later release to avoid overall delays. Therefore it seems likely that we will see NFC in a select number of Nokia's Symbian^4 products, in select markets, at some point in 2011.
   

NFC potential

NFC has the potential to become a very significant technology going forward. It could be an enabler for many of the future concepts that are regularly seen in 'mobile future' videos. However, it has had a mixed history - being something of a 'nearly' technology for the past few years. 

The initial use cases of NFC are likely to be around helping improve the user experience in device to device interactions. Rather than competing with Bluetooth, it is most likely to be used as a complementary technology. The two most commonly cited examples are the ability to pair two Bluetooth devices by touching them together and business card exchange between two devices, again by touching them together.

The most financially lucrative use cases are around mobile ticketing and mobile payment. However these are areas where regulatory frameworks, vested interests and disagreements over who should control the identity of the consumer (generally operators favour the SIM card (SWP) approach, manufacturers prefer embedded hardware approach) may slow uptake and availability of services.

A similar technology, FeliCa, is widely used in Japan. It is implemented in mobile phones as Osaifu-Keitai (which means 'wallet-phone', as was pioneered by NTT DoCoMo). Uses include ticketing on public transport, as an identity card, as a loyalty card in shops, for electronic money (pre-pay) and as a credit card. As of December 2009, 34 million Osaifu-Keitai phones were in use in Japan.

Rafe Blandford

News Discussion

Quote:

Originally Posted by chris_iow I think Nokia's approach is more sensible, evaluate the different options to see which integrates best with their future handsets/systems. P.S. I do wish the 'Unregistered' posters had the cojones to create an account and put together a more sensible reply, as then we may get some interesting debate on the actual things that are being discussed for a change :rolleyes:

There is nothing to debate here except some vague promises. All this may change or be cancelled next month. They may evaluate and integrate for years, but until the product is shipped, it does not matter for the consumer.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jparrot99 I'm trying to comment on the previous article, "Interviewing Damian Dinning ..." but I just get this error message:

Accidental - now fixed.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jparrot99 I'd love it if NFC worked. Less stuff to carry around, lose. Looks like the operators / banks are squabbling about it and the consumer gets nothing. Needs an Apple to push something through?

I don't think Apple on its own has the scale. It would actually make sense for manufacturers to get together (as they do in NFC forum).

Needs several companies to take it up for the advantages to really start working - relatively high tipping point for some use cases.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Unregistered So, you'd rather be kept in the dark about what is going regarding developments in a mobile company and wait for Steve Job's next can of bullshit to be opended? I for one prefer the open approach, but I guess people are different.

Yes, I would. Those kind of vague announcements have no value for anybody, I consider them counterproductive. Nokia has been experimenting with NFC since 2003, cancelled last phone with NFC in Feb 2010, delayed implementation from Symbian^3 to Symbian^4. They may change their mind again or be late as always. For now the only impact could be a small depreciation of N8 and small decrease in it's sales (if Nokia ever ships it...).

It makes sense to announce short time before launch, with specific date, pricing etc. We have been hearing about Nokia N8 for months, yet we know much more about iPhone 4, iOS4 (you can even try it), than we know about Symbian^3. You analogy to "can of BS" does not work in this case :)

Quote:

Originally Posted by jb8967 This would never happen at Apple

In a way I'm happy not every company markets it's products like Apple. I don't think people would buy that every single announced phone or technology is magical for example. And I fond for example the official N8 videos entertaining and informative. And the tune is really catchy.

I guess the last nfc phone was canceled because it didn't have market where it was needed. Should Nokia be some kind of Good Samaritan in this case and develop and sell phones just for the sake of having nfc phone?

Full thread: 12 Comments / Post New Comment