ButtUgly: Main_blogentry_211106

NXP, Sony join up

This is significant, for those who care. NXP (nee Philips Semiconductors) and Sony have teamed up to produce a common solution for NFC payment and ticketing applications. Why is it important? Well, because in contactless communications the world is currently divided: The Western world which follows the Mifare standard, and Japan, which follows ~FeliCa (and then there are loads of other players, but these two are the big ones).

The anticipated JV will plan, develop, produce and market a secure chip that will include both MIFARE® and ~FeliCa™. operating systems and applications, as well as other contactless card operating systems and applications.

Also, GSM Association wants to push for NFC interoperability (whatever that means, but judging by the language, seems to revolve around the SIM card) in their spanking new press release. When we're talking about mobile payments, so many things have to fall in place - and so many players will want a piece of the cake - that the ecosystem grows very complex very quickly.

What excites me is not putting a credit card in the mobile phone. What excites me is the opportunity to put the RFID technology into the hands of the people and see what wondrous things come out of it. There has been enough trouble created by governments, wanting to put tags into passports and other places, while keeping the control - the readers - to themselves. When users gain control by owning the readers, that's when it gets exciting. The Internet wouldn't be what it is if it hadn't been designed as a rampant playground for people with too much time on their hands. Standardization is good to a certain point, to level the playground and bootstrap it, but after that... just let it flow and find its own cracks.

I feel the hype growing. It's like a tingling sensation on my neck.