Here’s an engaging idea from a Chinese company called Netcom: adding NFC capability to existing phones via microSD. That’s right, instead of counting on external add-ons that occupy ports, Netcom decided to suit NFC chips plus their antennas onto ordinary microSD cards, yet still managing to cram in as much as 8GB of NAND memory together. This sure sounds convenient, but there are some caveats: the primary rule is that neither the back cover nor the microSD card holder have to be created from metal; then secondly, we noticed that due to tiny antenna coil, scanning could become tricky if the reader has a small sensing area — you’d have to position your phone at just the proper spot; and lastly, the telephone needs a different background app to speak with the NFC circuitry.
The demo we saw used a Java app running on a Chinese dumbphone, and we were told that Android could be next in line to receive similar support. Alas, consumers can not pick up such a cards from the department stores, though Netcom’s already working with a “top ten” phone manufacturer on a compatible device due in three to 6 months, so stay tuned. Hands-on video after the break.
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