Today Nokia introduced the Nokia 6212 classic featuring integrated Near Field Communication. The 3G handset allows consumers to share content, access services and information as well as conduct payments and ticketing with one tap of the device. The Nokia 6212 classic is expected to ship in the third quarter of 2008 in select markets in Europe and Asia. It has an estimated retail price of 200 Euros before taxes and subsidies.

By tapping an NFC-enabled tag, consumers can receive new content such as Web links, audio files or contact data directly to their phone. They can activate a profile in their handset or open applications such as FM radio or Web browser. Photos and videos can be shared by tapping another NFC-capable phone and pairing with a Bluetooth NFC-enabled device. The headset can be used with a number of Nokia devices as well as other manufacturers’ phones.

The Near Field Communication World Asia 2008 conference will be taking place September 11-12 the the Grand Hyatt in Singapore. According to their Web site, the conference is, “A senior level, strategic event that brings together the NFC founders, developers, manufacturers, service providers and merchants across the globe to discuss the latest development, issues, concerns and ROI from current NFC pilot projects.”

Many NFC industry leaders will be speaking at the director-level, interactive conference, which plans to have over 170 executives from Asia and all over the world. NFC technology is a quickly growing global market, and the conference is a very influential event regarding NFC advancement, the Web site reports. NXP is the founding sponsor of the event.

For more information on the event click here.

USA Technologies and ViVOtech have decided upon an agreement where ViVOtech will provide 25,000 contactless and magnetic stripe card readers for USA Technologies’ ePort technology. USA Technologies made an initial purchase of 10,000 readers from ViVOtech in 2007 that were installed with the ePort in vending machines.

“Our latest order of 25,000 wireless readers is in response to increasing demand from the vending industry for our contactless technology. Adoption of our ePort technology is increasing,” said George Jensen, chairman and CEO at USA Technologies Inc.

Maxis Communications Bhd hopes to grow its active 1.3 million 3G user base with the introduction of three new products, including a new NFC service, reports The Star Online. Head of Strategy and New Business Nikolai Dobberstein said, “The growing demand for data services was encouraging.”

Dobberstein said Malaysain-based Maxis is working on NFC technology to enable its subscribers to use their mobile phones for payment at Visa payWave and Touch n Go terminals.

Juniper Research reports that around 52 million consumers globally will adopt new mobile technologies such as NFC and other mobile payment methods by 2011. This will help drive the physical mobile payments market to $11.5 billion by the same year, according to Business Intelligence Middle East. NFC and other mobile payments methods will offer consumers a viable alternative both to cash, credit and debit cards.

Other findings from the report show that mobile payment applications and services are already available in most regions in a variety of formats where they are being adopted in either a trial or commercial mode with favorable user feedback.

The Washington Post ranks NFC as #2 on their “Top 10 coolest things at CTIA 2008” list saying: “Blaze Mobile has developed a mobile application to allow you to track bank accounts and debit and credit cards from several banks and services. It allows you to make contactless payments using near-field communications. If your phone doesn’t have NFC, you can sign up for a prepaid MasterCard through Blaze that gives you a NFC sticker to make payments. The app costs $4.99 a month.”

Read the full story here.

The government of India plans to disperse rural pensions through centers equipped with NFC based cell phones until the end of 2008, according to report from Eppn.com. Fourteen banks are using the system in 42 districts in 17 states in India.

Banks issue smart cards to pension recipients with biometric information in order to ensure that the person operating the account is the same person who opens the account. The cellular phone then functions as the bank’s computer in the village, and processes all of the bank’s transactions. The government gives 2 percent of the amounts being transferred as commission to the banks, while the bank shares this technology with its business correspondents.

Read the full story here.

SCM Microsystems has announced the release of its new “NFC dongle.” This is a USB device that connects users’ NFC-enabled mobile devices to their PCs. The new SCM device hopes to bridge the gap between the Web and NFC mobile devices.

“…To become firmly established in the (NFC) market, there must be a sufficient number of compelling applications and solutions using NFC technology. Our new dongle enables such applications and fills a need in the market for reliable, secure contactless connectivity devices,” said Felix Marx, Chief Executive Officer of SCM Microsystems.

Users can access and transfer information and data that has been stored in their mobile devices, such as vouchers, coupons, tickets and product details. In addition, the reader can be used for mobile smart-ticketing, data exchange and virtual connections, as well as ticketing and secure payment for public transportation, entertainment and other transactions.

Kyocera’s introduces NFC technology in a demo handset of an E2000 cell phone, at CTIA 2008 according to cnet.com. The new NFC capability would allow Kyocera E2000 cell phone users to make small purchases, just by the touch of their fingertip.

The handset avoids fraudulent charges by using a fingerprint scanner to identify the phone’s owner. Without the necessary fingerprint, the handset will not allow NFC purchases.

The Kyocera booth was demonstrating the NFC capability by enabling visitors to purchase items like chewing gum, and after check out allowing them to swipe the phone over the store’s scanner. In real practice, the purchase would then show up on the user’s credit card bill. A spokeswoman also mentioned that you could train the phone to use different credit cards depending on how you swipe the scanner.

Read the full story here.

Indonesia is increasingly pondering contactless payments as a result of the NFC theme set by the RFID Asia Summit 2008. As reported by PR.com Goh Say Yeow, executive vice president of sales and managing director Asia Pacific of INSIDE Contactless, presented the market trends and development of contactless payments in the region.

Going further with NFC technology, Jonathon Gould, vice president of Asia Pacific at Biotech reviewed different generations of electronic payment system with contactless payment becoming the latest trend. Chua Thian Yee, CEO of CASSIS, focused on the NFC technology used for mobile payment, reviewing the consumer landscape, the fundamentals of NFC technology and several mobile payment cases.