Opinion Articles

Thursday, May 20, 2010

A lukewarm mobile payment solution doesn't benefit anyone

Mark Bridge writes:

It's not often that a news story about the Apple iPhone prompts me to remember a bible verse... but this week was an exception.

The story was in The Washington Post and it was headlined 'Apple's iPhone does well without being the best'. “Very true,” I thought, as I remembered something similar I'd written last summer.

The article reflects on how Apple has triumphed at status and simplicity while other devices may offer better technology.

I hear you asking “Which bible verse?”  Wait a moment. That wasn't the story.

Later in the week came news from DeviceFidelity. They've created a protective case that adds the capability for NFC payments to the Apple iPhone. It's a case that has a slot for DeviceFidelity’s In2Pay microSD card, which can use the Visa payWave contactless payment technology.

This, incidentally, is a news story that was issued as a press release a couple of weeks ago and was then withdrawn the same day. Perhaps that's the reason there was a bit of a buzz around this. Because when I heard about it, I was underwhelmed. Protective case?  It seemed barely smarter than a roll of gaffa tape.

And that's when I thought of the line from the bible. Revelation 3:15-16. The Son of Man is sending a message to the Church in Laodicea... and He's not happy.

“I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.”

NFC-enabled mobile payments. Smart idea. Putting NFC on a microSD card. Smart idea. Putting that microSD card in a device that wraps around an iPhone because the iPhone isn't flexible enough to accommodate a microSD card slot. That – to use an appropriately inelegant word – is a kludge. An embarrassment, not a reason to celebrate. Yeah, it's better than nothing. But it's lukewarm. It's tepid. And that's not good for anyone.

 

Print
Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Rate this article:
No rating

Categories: OpinionNumber of views: 11733

Tags: payments devicefidelity iphone visa

Leave a comment

This form collects your name, email, IP address and content so that we can keep track of the comments placed on the website. For more info check our Privacy Policy and Terms Of Use where you will get more info on where, how and why we store your data.
Add comment

Follow thefonecast.com

Twitter @TheFonecast RSS podcast feed
Find us on Facebook Subscribe free via iTunes

Archive Calendar

«December 2024»
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun
2526272829301
2345678
9101112131415
16171819202122
23242526272829
303112345

Archive

Terms Of Use | Privacy Statement