A new report by IMS Research says 35 million NFC-equipped mobile phones have been shipped worldwide this year - with the figure expected to approach 80 million by the end of 2012.
The research business also notes the increasing number of partnerships involving Near Field Communications, including the launch of Google Wallet in the USA, the French government funding NFC trials in several cities and the Orange/Barclaycard trial in the UK.
Don Tait, senior analyst at IMS Research, said “After seven or so years of false dawns and frequent disappointment, 2011 has proved to be something of a breakthrough year. Most of the leading cellular handset manufacturers have launched NFC-enabled handsets over the last 12 months. They include Samsung, RIM, Nokia and HTC. Apple is the main player yet to release an NFC-enabled handset.”