NEC is planning commercial tests of a Packard Bell PC featuring an embedded e-commerce chip and smart card reader for secure transacting online.
NEC is currently demonstrating the technology at the CeBIT computer fair in Hannover. The machine is equipped with a secure shopping chip from Wave Systems embedded into a card reader on the PC's keyboard.
The Wave chip can be used to store and secure personal information such as credit card, PIN numbers and passwords. NEC says it expects to launch a trial of the technology in France in the second half of the year
"Consumers will be more comfortable sharing personal information, such as financial data, over the Internet when the network is more secure," says Detlef Bosse - executive director - desktop and solutions - NEC Computers International. "We believe secure or trusted computing capabilities can be a key differential in marketing computers to consumers."