The thing is that in-phone NFC is a bit of a chicken and egg thing. One has to come first; either the device or the payment system. IMO it's really only Apple that has the clout the kick-start NFC into business, like they did for online music sales. So I figure the more they delay the implementation, the longer it will take for phone-based NFC to become a reality. Thus after today's news we can be sure that NFC will remain on the drawing table for at least another year.
Even more speculation on my part, is that Apple is probably trying to corner the market in NFC by making it somehow exclusive to Apple devices. This fits with the corporate mindset, and if successful would assure the sales of iThings for decades.
NFC is already being used in France and other places, I believe it will become big before Apple gets a chance to incorporate it into the Iphone
NFC in action
Where is NFC currently being used? In May 2010 we pioneered “Cityzi” in Nice, in the south of France. There, locals carrying mobile handsets fitted with NFC chips can use their phones to buy everything from transport tickets to tobacco, by simply touching their phone against a card reader. The phones can also be used to hire bicycles on the city’s cycle hire scheme, or to scan tags to provide up-to- the-minute information on train timetables, or tourist information on historic monuments. Since then, such services have been extended to other French cities, such as Strasbourg & Caen.
In May 2011, Orange and Barclaycard launched “Quick Tap”, the UK’s first contactless mobile payment service. It enables consumers to make purchases in over 50,000 high-street stores.
NFC-enabled phones are currently being deployed nationally in France and UK, where customers are using the growing number of tags throughout their countries. Services will continue to expand as the installed base is being built up.
What do customers think?
The feedback from the pilot in Nice highlights the ease of use and underlines how the simple “gesture” movement makes it a highly accessible technology. This simplicity has made it very popular.
In a survey conducte by MV2 for the FSMSC (Forum for Contactless Mobile Services)in 2011 in France, consumers have confirmed both their enthusiasm for mobile contactless services and their willingness to support them: 77 per cent of customers saying they would change their mobile telephone to access NFC-enabled hhnservices.
I use it to transfer stuff from my S2 to my Nexus S, or to my sons S2, ect. Could be web pages, videos ect.
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