Near-field communication (NFC) payments are fairly common in the UK nowadays, allowing customers to pay for items up to £30 by tapping their card onto a reader. Colloquially dubbed “contactless,” UK bank Natwest is pairing this technology with a fingerprint reader that uncaps the standard limit while forgoing archaic passwords. …
Read More »Google explains why it killed off NFC Smart Unlock for Android
Last week, it was discovered that Google had quietly killed off the NFC Smart Unlock feature for Android. At the time, it was unclear why Google made this move and even some support staff within the company had no idea that the change had taken place. Now, Google has explained …
Read More »Chinese hackers may have stolen technology behind Samsung Pay
Samsung recently launched its own mobile payments service, Samsung Pay, which does the same thing as Apple Pay and Android Pay, allowing users to use their smartphones to pay for items rather than pulling out their credit card. However, it now looks like some Chinese hackers may have stolen the …
Read More »Google is launching Android Pay today
Google has been preparing its second attempt at breaking in to mobile payments following the success and adoption of Apple Pay. Google's new implementation is called ‘Android Pay' and it is launching today in the US, with support for phones running Android 4.4 KitKat and above. The new app will …
Read More »Pokken Tournament could introduce NFC Pokemon figurines
Pokken Tournament is a Tekken-like beat 'em up but with Pokemon, that was released in mid-July in Japanese arcades only. It's expected to head over to the west eventually though and it may bring with it something that has the potential to be a huge earner for Bandai Namco and …
Read More »It looks like Barclays will support Apple Pay after all
Apple Pay is finally heading to the UK this week, around nine months after its initial announcement last year and it looks like more people will have the opportunity to make use of the feature, as Barclays has caved in and revealed that it would be offering support for the …
Read More »Apparently Xiaomi wants to take mobile payments in a new direction
Ever since last year when Apple launched Apple Pay with the latest batch of iPhones, more and more smartphone makers have been looking in to offering a way for customers to make card payments with their mobile devices. While offerings from Google, Apple and Samsung have all operated in the …
Read More »Google is looking to revive Google Wallet by paying carriers
Google's Wallet service didn't take off in the same way that Apple Pay has but Google hasn't given up just yet. According to a new report, the company is looking to revive Google Wallet and turn it in to a genuine competitor in the mobile payments field. In order to …
Read More »Amiibo will unlock portions of NES, SNES games
What Nintendo will actually do with its Amiibo figurines has been up for much debate since the little NFC equipped models were released last year. Off the bat they gave us extra costumes in certain games and our own AI cooperative partner in Smash Bros, but these are cross title …
Read More »Toshiba puts NFC in SD cards for previewing photos
Toshiba revealed that it is planning to release SD cards featuring Near Field Communication (NFC) technology that will enable you to see what photos are on the card by touching it to your phone. This could make it much easier to go through a large collection of unlabelled SD cards to find …
Read More »Apple Pay to arrive in the UK next year following tricky negotiations
Apple Pay is due to arrive in the UK next year but according to new reports Apple's negotiations are being held up as some banking executives fear that the mobile payment service could serve as a “beachhead for Apple's invasion of the banking industry”. Additionally, at least one of the …
Read More »Sapphire Technology teases NFC brand
Sapphire Technology on Wednesday uploaded a teaser video to its account on YouTube, teasing, possibly, new graphics cards featuring mysterious NFC technology. Like with many viral videos, Sapphire’s video does not explain what exactly it advertises. “Passion is hard,” says the voice in the video. “Sometimes it hurts. People tell …
Read More »Amiibo ad makes Smash Bros look like a grind fest
Oh Nintendo, will you just get the marketing for your current-gen system right? You have a decent console. It's got some good, unique games and it's cheaper than all of the others. It even does 1080p and 60 frames per second in some titles, so why aren't you making a bigger …
Read More »Apple to launch iOS 8.1, Apple Pay on the 20th of October
Apple on Thursday said that its mobile payment system – Apple Pay – will go online starting the 20th of October, 2014, when the company rolls-out iOS 8.1, a new major update to the mobile OS from Apple. While the Apple Pay could eventually be a revolution, the vast majority …
Read More »Apple Pay to launch in the US this week
Apple will reportedly launch its recently announced NFC based mobile payment service in the US on the 18th of October, according to a leaked memo from Wallgreens. Apple Pay will allow US shoppers to pay for goods using their iPhone 6 or 6 Plus handset, the upcoming Apple Watch will …
Read More »Apple iPhone 6’s NFC chip is restricted to Apple Pay terminals
Although Apple’s latest smartphones support near-field communication (NFC) technology, this technology will only be compatible with Apple Pay terminals and will not work with anything else. The reasons why Apple decided to restrict usage of NFC are unclear, but it looks like the new iPhones will not work with other …
Read More »Apple announces Apple Pay, aims to transform mobile payments
Apple on Tuesday introduced its Apple Pay system designed to significantly change the way people make purchases. Apple promises that its system will make payments easier, more secure and more private thanks to the fact that details about actual credit or debit cards will be hidden from personnel who processes …
Read More »Apple’s iWatch to feature NFC mobile payment system
Apple’s upcoming smartwatch devices will include the company’s payment system that will allow their owners to pay for goods in certain stores. The technology will significantly expand usage of the iWatch and will greatly improve buying experience. The Wall Street Journal reports that the addition of NFC tap-to-pay technology will reflects …
Read More »Apple teams up with Visa, MasterCard, AmEx for iPhone wallet
Along with its next-generation iPhone smartphone and the iOS 8 operating system Apple plans to introduce its own mobile payment system in September, which will let consumers to securely pay for items in stores with the touch of a finger. Bloomberg reports that Apple’s payment system, which will rely on …
Read More »Intel readies two ‘Broadwell’-based NUCs with NFC, vPro support
Intel Corp. is not going to release its next-generation code-named “Broadwell” family of central processing units (CPUs) until later this year, but it is already working on two small form-factor PCs based on the chip. While the products are still in development, we already know that both are going to …
Read More »Arctic S113BT Portable Bluetooth Speaker Review
Arctic has decided to face the challenge of creating a portable Bluetooth speaker that can connect to a wide-range of devices. Their creation is the Arctic S113 BT Portable Bluetooth Speaker and on paper it has a strong set of features and specifications.
Read More »Ex-Marks and Spencer boss pushes new money
Sir Stuart Rose was asked to leave M&S with an £8 million handshake and, at 61 years of age, could well retire to a humble Yorkshire mining town – supping bitter and regaling locals with tales of retailing wonder. But he's not doing that. In fact he's getting quite dramatic. …
Read More »LG announces a new 3D smartphone, the Optimus 3D Max
While the LG Optimus 3D was not an overwhelming sucess when it was debuted last year it did open up a new market of smartphones, namely 3D smartphones. Now LG has announced the sucessor to the Optimus 3D claiming it is “real proof of LG’s commitment to portable 3D entertainment.” This successor will …
Read More »Samsung announces sequels for the Galaxy Ace and Mini
Samsung has just announced two new Android smartphones ahead of Mobile World Congress; the Galaxy Ace 2 and the Galaxy Mini 2. The original Ace and Mini were some of Samsung's most sucessful phones in 2011 and Samsung have now renewed each phone with healthy specifications. The Samsung Galaxy Ace …
Read More »PayPal doesn’t see the light in NFC
It now appears as if PayPal are now working on their own form of payment technology; turning their back on Near Field Communications (NFC). Although they have experimented with NFC in their Android application and as a point of sales system in Sweden recently, they do not see the brilliance …
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