Can this NFC chip be used for tap and pay credit cards?
So a self employed person could use the PlayBook to manage their database and customers, and either have the customer pay by tapping or by using a card reader that has been inserted into the cavity.
It works the other way. A device with NFC is a tap and pay card, it's not a NFC reader. There are companies that do mobile payment on BlackBerrys. They use bluetooth magstripe readers I believe.
It works the other way. A device with NFC is a tap and pay card, it's not a NFC reader. There are companies that do mobile payment on BlackBerrys. They use bluetooth magstripe readers I believe.
iirc Basille never mentioned if it was a reader or not. Would make more sense to make it a NFC reader/transmitter, considering who the PlayBook is marketed to.
Not to mention that the PB is on the big side for something that you would normally wave over a sensor at the checkout counter.
Also: I just checked, and NFC is normally with read/write capabilities on both ends; just that smart cards and ID tags have a dumb chip that can only send data when requested. details
I don't think Balsillie was talking about the PlayBook, it was about BlackBerrys in general. Even in business there are very few businesses that need NFC reader capability in a mobile device. I've never seen a business that accepts payments using BBs, though I know they are out there. It's a candidate for the expansion slot, but building in something that won't be used by 99.9% (literally) of customers doesn't make sense.
They might make an API available for the NFC chip if it's a fully featured bidirectional one. That way RIM builds support for sending data, and leaves it to devs to build reader software appropriate for the market that wants this.
It doesn't necessarily have to be just for accepting payments. It could be used to used to do anything that normal rfid sensors/transmitters can do, with accepting payments done via apis used by a banking app or something.
I'm sorry if I am getting a bit off topic here, but I'm wondering if this has to be limited to transactions. I guess what I mean to say is that it would be wonderful to be able to someday set my device next to my laptop, and automatically and without being wired synch my contacts, etc. Or heck, even transfer files. Is this type of thing possible with this tech. ?
NFC isn't nearly fast enough for the transfer itself, but it could be used as a signaling protocol. For example, when two devices are in NFC range they could use NFC to exchange Bluetooth pins and establish a Bluetooth link. Bluetooth 3.0 already does something like this, where Bluetooth is used to setup an ad-hoc WiFi network transparently and automatically to increase transfer speeds.
I'm sorry if I am getting a bit off topic here, but I'm wondering if this has to be limited to transactions. I guess what I mean to say is that it would be wonderful to be able to someday set my device next to my laptop, and automatically and without being wired synch my contacts, etc. Or heck, even transfer files. Is this type of thing possible with this tech. ?
It probably be able to do any low volume communicating. It should be able to read NFC tags, allow you to send your contact info to someone else, load the website for supplementary information from a smart information board, etc.
