NFC-enabled Smart Phones
When we talk about phones with near field communication (NFC) capabilities today, the most notable discussion is around which major smartphone maker has not introduced an NFC-enabled phone to the market. That's right, it's Apple, the creator of the highly successful iPhone.
While rumors abounded over the summer that the next version of the iPhone, the iPhone 5 would in fact have an NFC chip, the recent launch disproved that possibility. Reports claim that Apple is concerned about NFC security, and some experts believe there was simply no room in the ultra-thin case for another chip.
Regardless of the reason, an abundance of other smartphone manufacturers are testing the waters with NFC-enabled phones. At the recent Olympic Games in London, Samsung and Visa partnered to offer each Olympic athlete a new Samsung Galaxy SIII with NFC and an Olympic mobile wallet app. The athletes could use the phones to access events and make payments for the duration of the Games.
Below is a list of NFC-enabled phones that are available today, by operating system. And if this isn’t enough to make your head spin, see a more comprehensive list of phones available worldwide, and those coming soon, including tablets and PDAs.
Android
Acer E320 Liquid Express
Acer Cloud Mobile
Acer Liquid Glow
Fujitsu Arrows μ F-07D
Google Galaxy Nexus
Google Nexus 7, Q, S
Motorola Droid Razr
HTC Droid Incredible 4G LTE,
HTC Evo 4G LTE
HTC One X
Lenovo K800
LG Optimus LTE, Net, Vu, L5, L7
LG Viper
Panasonic Eluga
Samsung Galaxy S Blaze
Samsung Advance, Mini 2, Ace 2
Sony Xperia Sola, P, Ion
BlackBerry
BlackBerry Bold 9790, 9900, 9930
BlackBerry Curve 9350, 9360, 9370, 9380
Windows
DLI 9000
Nokia Lumina 610 NFC
Toshiba TG01
Windows Phone 8 (coming this Fall)
ZTE Orbit
The good news is, if you want to use NFC to make wireless payments, there are workarounds for Android phones and iPhones. Android users can insert an NFC-enabled MicroSD card into their phones and affix a booster sticker to the inside of their battery cover to amplify the NFC signal. iPhone users can use Moneto’s patented iPhone case embedded with NFC.
See related articles:
Prevent Electronic Pickpocketing, Security Measures For RFID and NFC Credit Cards
Microsoft's Windows Phone 8 Moves Forward with Mobile Payment Options
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