Nokia has rolled out a fully integrated, commercial NFC handset, the Nokia 6131 NFC phone. Featuring the same slim folding lines and outstanding features, the Nokia 6131 NFC handset includes Near Field Communications (NFC) technology to enable information sharing, service initiation and payment & ticketing capability with one tap of the device, Nokia said. Used in much the same way as existing contactless cards and keytags to allow access and make small payments, the addition of NFC technology to a full featured mobile device adds an entirely new level of capability by leveraging the phone's computing power, wireless Internet access and user interface, Nokia added.
The Nokia 6131 NFC phone is expected to be available in select markets during the 1st quarter of 2007 for approximately USD 340 (260 Euros) before taxes and subsidies.
Mobile phones are increasingly being used as pagers, phone and address books, schedulers, alarm clocks, watches, and devices for sending and receiving e-mail and instant messages and for Web browsing.
Considering that mobile phones are increasingly becoming indispensable to their users, the next logical step would have been to use mobile phones in lieu of credit cards. However, studies have shown that users are reluctant to use their mobile phones as payment devices, owing to security threats.
However, that seems to be slowly changing now as participants at the first North American mobile phone payment and content trial have embraced the technology and expressed that the mobile device and applications significantly improved their arena experience. Participants indicated that they would like to use their mobile devices for payment at a variety of merchant locations, for any purchase size, and see value in accessing multiple payment accounts on their mobile devices in the future.
Further, trial participants also expressed interest in having multiple applications on a single mobile device, including transit, loyalty and digital content applications.
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