Add-on NFC cards that can be popped into existing cellphone microSD slots have taken another step nearer reality with an announcement from Tyfone that it has inked a manufacturing deal with big Taiwan-based card maker AboMem.
What this will produce is a fully functional, popularly priced microSD memory card with built-in NFC capabilities, said Siva Narendra, president-North America of Tyfone in Portland, Ore.
He estimated that upwards of 70% of mobile phones could accommodate the Tyfone add-on, which he suggested would sell in the $8 to $10 range.
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"The addition of our technology does not materially impact the cost of the card," he said.
This particular Tyfone deal, Narendra stressed, is targeted at the China-Hong Hong market. "China is very advanced in terms of NFC infrastructure," said Narendra.
"In the U.S. an NFC reader infrastructure at the merchant level is a couple years away," added Narendra. "In China it is already deployed."
"There is no reason for us to wait for the U.S. market. We are going to geographies where NFC can be used today," said Narendra.
One upshot: when the U.S. is ready for NFC the technology will be proven, mature, suggested Narendra.
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