T-Mobile explains what it will do with Isis NFC capabilities

Today, T-Mobile announced that it was rolling out an Isis/NFC update to the Samsung Galaxy S II. Most of us already know that NFC is used for commerce, and while T-Mobile thinks that’s great, it has outlined its plan for NFC now that its showing up on its phones. To hear T-Mobile explain it, the roll out of NFC is more than just a joint venture with Isis to challenge Google Wallet.

T-Mobile instead wants its customers to use NFC for more than just mobile payments. On the T-Mobile Issues & Insights Blog, the company outlined three different ways it envisions customers using NFC. The first, obviously, is turning your phone into something of a mobile wallet. We saw that coming from a mile away thanks to the team up with Isis, but in the blog post, T-Mobile explains other potential uses, such as using your phone to store membership cards and IDs, and giving merchants the opportunity to offer special discounts through NFC.
Another application T-Mobile envisions is using NFC as your “key for access and content.” Specifically, T-Mobile brings up the possibility of using NFC to replace your key and tickets, meaning that you’d be able to use NFC for easy access to your car and shows. Finally, T-Mobile suggests that customers may be able to automate simple tasks with NFC. The example the company gives discusses getting into your car after work and then opening up a traffic map and sending a text message to all of your family members to tell them that you’re on the way with a single tap.
T-Mobile warns that all of this “won’t happen overnight” but says that its currently working to roll out these features as quickly as it can. The company says that it already has secure SIM cards meant for storing personal information that will be used with NFC, so it sounds like it won’t be long before these NFC capabilities T-Mobile is touting become a reality. Stay tuned, because we’ll have more information on T-Mobile’s NFC roll out soon.

Story Timeline

• Isis, Google Wallet competitor, to run on Android
• T-Mobile Galaxy S II gets the root treatment
• T-Mobile Galaxy S II update rolling out now
• T-Mobile Galaxy S II getting Ice Cream Sandwich June 11th
• T-Mobile Galaxy S II update to ICS available tonight - only on a PC
• Isis mobile payments coming in September

Device Specifications and Information
Device Info

Device Name : Galaxy S II (T-Mobile)

Manufactuer : Samsung

Carrier : T-Mobile

Announced Date : August 31, 2011

Release Date : October 12, 2011

Also Known As : Hercules

Display

• Screen Size : 4.52 Inch
• Resolution : 480x800
• Screen Type : Super AMOLED Plus

Dimension & Weight

• Height : 5.11 Inch
• Width : 2.71 Inch
• Depth : 0.37 Inch
• Weight : 135 Grams

Battery & Power

Battery Type:
• Lithium Ion

• Battery Capacity : 1850 mAh
• Talk Time : NA
• Stand By Time : 167 hours

Software

Android OS:
• 2.3.x

Audio Playback:
• AAC
• AAC+
• AMR
• MID
• MP3
• WAV
• WMA

Video Playback:
• h.263
• h.264 / AVC
• 3GP

Messaging:
• SMS
• MMS

Hardware

CPU : Qualcomm APQ8060

CPU Clock Speed : 1500 Mhz

Core : 2

Ram : 1024 MB

Internal Storage : 16.384 GB

Front Facing Camera :

Camera Resolution : 8 MP

External Storage:
• MicroSD
• MicroSDHC

Camera Features:
• Auto focus
• Flash
• 1080p Video Recording

Sensors:
• Accelerometer
• Ambient light
• Proximity

QWERTY :

Cellular Network

Network Technology:
• GSM

GSM Band:
• 850
• 900
• 1800
• 1900

Device Connectivity

Wi-Fi:
• 802.11b
• 802.11g
• 802.11n

Bluetooth:
• Bluetooth 3.0

Location Features:
• Compass
• GPS
• Cellular location
• Wi-Fi location

FM Radio :

NFC :

T-Mobile explains what it will do with Isis NFC capabilities
Eric Abent
Tue, 28 Aug 2012 22:05:33 GMT