Mark Bridge writes:
Mobile payments. Mobile payments. Mobile payments. That’s what everyone seems to be talking about. They were on the agenda last week and they’re back again.
This week has ended with the launch of Orange Quick Tap, which turns the Samsung Tocco Lite into an NFC-equipped payment card. It’s the UK’s first commercial mobile payment solution - although, as O2 would like to point out, it won’t be the last. In fact, there was news of a third UK player this week, as Lloyds TSB was confirmed as the payment partner for Samsung’s Olympic m-payment phone.
But it’s not all been good news. Virtual network Nomi Mobile appears to be in big trouble, the Ovi brand isn’t long for this world and O2 has suffered the kind of equipment theft that hit Vodafone earlier this year.
Normally I’d cheer myself up with a few predictions... but even looking into the future doesn’t offer a great deal of inspiration this week. Apple wants smaller SIM cards and RIM has confirmed a UK launch date for the BlackBerry PlayBook.
Is that it? Once upon a time we had mobile payments to look forward to!
Stay ahead of the crowd by receiving a weekly news summary from TheFonecast.com by email. Simply click the ‘register’ link at the top right-hand corner of our website and enter your details.