Philips and Sony are to develop a range of interoperable smart devices capable of transferring payment and data services over short distances using near field radio-frequency communication (NFC) technology.
The companies say the new NFC technology will operate on 13.56 MHz and allow for the transfer of any kind of data between NFC-enabled devices such as mobile phones, digital cameras and PDA's as well as to PC's, laptops, game consoles or PC Peripherals. It will operate across a distance of up to twenty centimeters and aim at speeds fast enough to transfer high quality images. The technolofy will be fully compliant with Philips' existing Mifare and Sony's FeliCa contactless smartcard technologies.
The companies says the aim is to build a a range of NFC-compliant devices which effectively incorporate smart-key and smartcard reader functions and provide a new communication channels for payment (including credit card), ticketing, and accessing online entertainment content. This can be done simply by holding devices or smartcards near each other. The consumer's primary NFC device (eg mobile phone or PDA) will act as a smart-key to gain access to chosen services.
Karsten Ottenberg, general manager of Philips Semiconductors' Identification business, says: "This agreement will revolutionise the way consumers access services and see the penetration of identification chips move far beyond smart cards, with NFC becoming a standard component of new electronic devices."
Sony and Philips have invited other companies to participate in the development and roll-out of the technology.