Tag Center voted Top 10 App
Nokia N9 users have voted Proxama’s NFC application Tag Center as one of their favourite apps and we couldn’t be happier! 2011 was a brilliantly busy year for us and we released a number of mobile payment solutions and applications into the market. One of our biggest campaigns was for VOX cinemas where we helped bring free movie experiences to Dubai film fans and treated them to some popcorn vouchers as well. Tag Center was a key ingredient in bringing this to life: vouchers, show information and more can all be collected and stored on the app. And we’re so excited about giving everyone a chance to experience NFC and contactless, that we’re giving the app away for free. We want to know what you think works, what doesn’t and how we can make NFC even more accessible and user-friendly.
If you have a Nokia N9, you can find the app here. Another Nokia NFC handset? Click here to see if your phone is compatible. To download the Android version, vist the marketplace.
For the full list of top 10 apps, click here.
Making cinema more magical
Consumers receive exclusive cinema offers with NFC
Going to the cinema and seeing a really great film can be a truly magical experience. But free movie tickets and free popcorn make it even better.
Customers at VOX cinemas in Dubai are reaping the benefits of owning NFC handsets since Proxama launched its latest drive to get people’s phones tapping. Kiosks in the cinema chain are equipped with posters, each with a touchpoint that users tap their phone to in order to receive their voucher. The voucher is then redeemed at the till, by touching another poster. And there’s no cheating! With Proxama’s security barriers built in, users can’t share their ticket with others or redeem it more than once. Users can collect another voucher the following weekend, however so the fun can continue for a long time.
For the full story, click here.
Neil to speak at first WIMA USA
Chief Exec, Neil Garner, will be presenting at the first WIMA USA tomorrow. With WIMA Monaco already fully established as a must for NFC professionals and enthusiasts the world over, it’s American counterpart promises not to disappoint.
Neil’s talk is entitled ‘NFC for Mobile Applications and Enhanced User Experience’ and will explore the difference between NFC URL links and NFC applications. Other speakers at WIMA include the Head of NFC at Nokia and Group Head of Mobile Product Development at MasterCard.
If you’re attending the event and would like to listen to Neil’s talk, you can catch it at 11.30am tomorrow morning.
For more information on what’s going on at WIMA, click here.
New Contactless Payment Test Kit available
Our latest product, a MasterCard standardised Mobile Reference Kit is now available to purchase. The kit is the first of its kind to meet MasterCard standards and offers a significant advantage to anyone looking to develop terminals and cards that work with mobile wallets. Designed for terminal vendors, card issuers and merchants, the kit comes with a Samsung Galaxy S phone, Proxama Mobile Wallet software (pre-installed)and 5 Micro SD cards, each representing a different card type including MasterCard and Maestro.
We believe that it’s products like this that will propel mobile contactless payments into the mainstream by assisting manufacturers and card issuers in ensuring their products meet united standards. The product is launched this week at MasterCard’s stand at the Cartes 2011 conference in Paris. Our Head of Mobile Wallets will be at the event to demonstrate how it works and answer any questions.
The full press release on this story is available here.
Beyond Payment: What NFC can do for travel
Going beyond payment, Proxama’s Chief Exec, Neil Garner will be presenting at tomorrow’s Travel 2020 event. Neil will review what’s been happening with NFC within the transport sector and explore the direction in which the technology is heading. Having only last month spoken to Passport magazine about how NFC can be used at airports, Neil will now present on how the technology can revolutionise travel and ticketing.
The presentation will highlight some of the key success stories of NFC pilots in the UK and around the world. With the UK government becoming increasingly certain that NFC has the potential to transform the daily commute, they are commisioning projects which utilise the technology. Neil will speak about what has happened, what the future holds and what needs to happen now to get us there. He’ll highlight the importance of travel cards being incorporated into mobile wallets and its simplicity over traditional ticketing. He’ll also explore the possibilities if the transport indusry not only uses NFC for access but also for advertising, allowing users to retrieve travel offers from NFC posters, store them in mobile wallets, and redeem them at terminal gates.
To attend Neil’s presentation and others from industry experts, visit the Travel 2020 website.
Not quite fifth generation
We waited with bated breath as Tim Cook unveiled the iPhone… 4S?
At least we can say that keeping up with Apple news hasn’t been boring. They’ve been in the habit of surprising us of late and yesterday was no exception. The news that the iPhone 4S doesn’t have NFC was disappointing but not a complete shock. Perhaps taking a step back on this one won’t be such a bad idea. Waiting to see how other mobile phone companies utilise NFC should allow Apple an insight into the technology in exchange for minimal risk. They have their hardcore iPhone fanatics who will certainly be willing to wait.
There are plenty of other manufacturers happy to make a commitment to NFC while Apple watch quietly from the sidelines. Nokia have promised to include the technology in all of their future smartphones, starting with the C7 which was released earlier this year. Google’s recently announced NFC mobile wallet is evidence of their faith in the technology, and RIM proudly announced that future Blackberry devices will be NFC-enabled. Other big names climbing into bed with the technology include Samsung, HTC, LG, Sony Ericcson and Motorala. With all that choice, we don’t need Apple just yet. And let’s face it, they did have a very poor camera for a long time… at least they’ve managed to fix something.
Apple unveils iPhone 5
Today sees the day that Apple are expected to reveal what the fifth generation of iPhone has in store for us. Of course, the big question in the contactless world is:
Will the iPhone 5 come equipped with NFC?Unfortunately we still have a few hours to wait. The presentation of the handset isn’t due to begin until 6pm UK time, with the announcement of it’s NFC capabilities expected shortly afterwards. Apple have succesffuly maintained a hum of rumour about their NFC plans over the past year, with both internal staff and external media offering up conflicting information on their technology roadmap. It’s no surprise, therefore, that those of us involved with the NFC have been waiting with bated breath for this day to come.
Having recently beaten both Microsoft and IBM to become the highest ranking technology company (in terms of market value), Apple’s influence on both consumers and industry insiders alike is stronger than ever. With a forceful push on consumer and brand education, we could see NFC grow even more quickly than expert predictions suggest. However, Apple’s secretive attitude towards NFC could suggest one of two things:
1. They have been working on a phone with NFC capabilities incredibly advanced and user-friendly. They didn’t want the risk of competitors picking up on their ideas and manipulating them into their own applications.
2. They arrived at the NFC game a little late and over-cautious. Brands like Google and Nokia were already approaching touchdown with their first NFC handsets. Apple observed that in order to compete, they would need to get the NFC capabilities in their phone abolutely right. With the iPhone 5 already in development, they decided to put off introducing NFC into the handset, preferring to wait for the following iPhone 6.
It would be fantastic if the reason was the former: increased industry competition and therefore advances in the technology and consumer attitudes towards it would speed up immensely. That said, the lack of NFC in the iPhone 5 wouldn’t be all bad. Apple have had a tendency to eye up new technologies and observe competitor behaviour before jumping on board. If this is the case, we can expect them to offer up even better NFC capabilities with future phones; phones that have learnt from the innovation, as well as the mistakes, of other leading handset manufacturers.
Only time will tell what the new iPhone 5 holds, but even if it doesn’t come with NFC, there will be plenty of other handsets over 2011/12 that will make up for the lack.
Into the future
We don’t need crystal balls or psychic vibes to figure out that an innovative, slick technology like NFC will become big news. OK, so it would be fun if we could morph into one of the Looney Toons or ‘beam’ ourselves to another location using the mere power of thought… but receiving product specs or special offers simply by touching a product? Or waving your hand in front of a POS terminal to pay for that coffee in the morning? These are pretty amazing too. I know it’s not just a case of waving your hand (you need a phone or other NFC device as well) but go back only 30 years and people may not have thought it possible at all.
NFC is definitely the future of mobile connection: prettier than QR codes, exclusive and allowing the consumer control. Neil Garner spoke to Marketing Week about the technology and the importance of educating the consumer.
NFC: helping to take the hassle out of travel
Having already worked with JCDecaux on the X-Men: First Class advertising campaign, our Chief Exec Neil spoke to Passport magazine on the value of NFC advertising at airports. NFC advertising could transform not only how people travel via bus, train or plane, but also their experience of doing so. To have a look at the full interview, click here.
NFC World Alliance Formed
We’re incredibly excited about the pace at which NFC is moving and, not wanting to keep all this excitement to ourselves, we’ve formed an alliance with US mobile marketing expert Blue Bite and industry leader Tapit (Australia) so we can spread some NFC love around the world.
The Alliance will make NFC marketing solutions a reality for businesses the world over. Revolutionising traditional marketing media, the technology promises an interactive, highly measurable experience that will bridge the gap between the offline and online worlds.
News of our alliance has spread far and wide with articles from the Washington Post to Adweek and NFC World, and the response has been incredibly positive. We’re excited to be moving forward with NFC and the Alliance will make global implementation of the technology quicker and easier for all involved.
For the full story on the NFC World Alliance, click here.
