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If you thought Google Wallet was a great idea but were maybe a little sad that you weren’t one of the four people that actually own an NFC equipped device like the Nexus S, you may be in luck! A company by the name of Netcom is showing off micro sd cards they’ve managed to equip with tiny little NFC transmitters no doubt manufactured using tiny little hands.
So how does it work? Simply insert the micro sd cards into your non-NFC device and presto! Using an app already installed on your phone to communicate with the sd cards, you will be able to make wireless transactions in no time. The catch? Well, the NFC micro sd cards wont function properly in any kind of metallic sd slot (like those found on the Samsung Vibrant) but if you own a solid plastic device like the Evo, you just might be in luck! Here’s a video showing off the whole painless process.
Because the transmitters are so tiny, finding the sweet spot to transmit can be a little tricky. But you know what can be a real hassle? Attempting to take my phone out from inside my skinny jeans. Which brings me to my next question. When can we start seeing these chips installed into our foreheads and/or wrists?
[Via Engadget]
You say any Sumsung phone but it looks like my Vibrant has a metal tray for the SDcard. So i take it that it will not work in my Vibrant. Otherwise i would love to have this.
@09f22c224c2d64a1e6b10e92d77b4ee4:disqus @Mitchsamuels:disqus Oh snaps. Was trying to go off memory from playing with my brother’s Vibrant. Updated post =p
Neat idea, hopefully the card has storage on it as well.
wasn’t there a video of someone showing NFC being used to unlock their phone via tasker when he droppped it on a spot on his desk? thats more interesting to me personally if i were able to skip a password that way
:O
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01cRuB2_5AE
Do you mean metal battery door, or SD Cage? My Samsung Fascinate has a plastic door, but a metal cage (From what I can tell by looking and tapping) surrounding the SD card… Sad day.
Even on the Evo, wouldn’t the fact that the card is buried under the battery pose a problem?
To bad the iphone doesn’t even have an Micro SD slot:)
The whole iPhone/Quicktime/iTunes/etc thing IS A SLOT.
I mean, it is a very narrow little thing that Apple insists you fit into…
Sometimes even a teenzy micro SD slot seems really big, wide and open ;)
I love your articles Chris. Just figured I’d say that most of them always make me laugh.
And I agree. Instead of phones, we need microchips that we can put in our eyes or something… That way I don’t even have to take my phone out ever.
This post literally HURT my eyes just by reading it! Ouch >.<
“When can we start seeing these chips installed into our foreheads and/or wrists?” sounds like the ‘mark of the beast from Revelations.. Think about it, suposedly you wont be able to buy anything w/o the motb. Im not religious at all but Revelations is the best scifi story ever told imo. Anyways, you said it. ; )
Agreed. Also, no one can refute the fact that it was written thousands of years ago. Interesting that it is all coming to pass. If this is true, it makes you wonder about the rest of the bible. Maybe I should get mine out and dust it off.
“He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor,
free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their
foreheads, and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark
or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.” Revelation
13:16-17
.
Sorry, just cant see this, or even chips inserted into your hand (or the more convenient forehead) as relating to this bible quote no matter how far you stretch it.
Why not use the SIM card..
Damnit, Steve. Cuz that would be TOO easy. We don’t like logic ’round these parts o_O
Surely someone could integrate these two concepts together ??? – using the SD slot with the added dangly bit that sits behind the case/cover. That way you can use your existing SIM, SD slot with metal bracket, and have improved NFC reception. I could be wrong though.
Something like this perhaps? http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/12/03/nfc_trial/ This thing has been demoed since at least 2008, you or I can’t buy it of course…
The appeal of NFC to me isn’t payment, but being able to read NFC tags.
donotwant
From reading the article on NFC, part of the security on the internal chips was that they would break if you open the phone. That suggests that if someone could get their hands on your chip (fnarr) they could possibly extract the data, therefore maybe this isn’t such a great idea?
You’ve got a good point there. I personally have no need for NFC, so I won’t be getting this SD Card. Seems to me that NFC gives thieves just another reason to steal your phone. At best, they’d get my contact list without NFC but with it, your banking information and likely, your money. no thanks.
Do you carry credit cards in your wallet?
‘When can we start seeing these chips installed into our foreheads and/or wrists?’ FYI we were selling bio compatible NFC tags 10 years ago, mainly for livestock control but it was all a bit to big brother for the market back then.
Not to mention having any kind of “mark” implanted in your _wrist_ is going to encounter a bit of pushback from those of a christian inclination.
You can still get them implanted in your dog or cat. A lot of vets do them.
I seem to remember a Wired article several years back of some professor somewhere having one implanted and testing out the idea. I’m not so keen on getting one implanted, but I think it’s a perfect way for watch manufacturers to increase their business again.
Didn’t Google say that there will be stickers that you can put on the back of phones that do not have NFC built-in? I wouldn’t waste my microSD slot on this.
Lol. Stickers.
“Attempting to take my phone out from inside my skinny jeans.”
Haha. Nice Chris. This is one of the reasons I don’t like having a case on my phone. Too much hassle removing it from my jean pockets.
I believe there are more than 4 people owning a Nexus S
as a gamer, im only interested in using NFC as a replacement to those data cards you have to buy at the arcade (e.g. for games like tekken)
What About the API support on this SD card, are they providing it as well??