Part of the reason for that expansion, he said, is the technology’s penetration into the smartphone market. McLaughlin insisted that “I don’t know of a handset manufacturer out there that isn’t in the process of making sure their stuff is PayPass ready.” When pressed on whether that included Apple, McLaughlin would only repeat that there aren’t any handset manufacturers not working on the technology.

Though still in its early days, the technology is becoming increasingly common in the smartphone market. Google Wallet, a system designed for Android phones with NFC technology, stores users’ credit card data on their phones so that they can use them with NFC-based payment systems like PayPass. The Samsung Galaxy Nexus, which launched late last year, includes NFC, and the major mobile phone carriers are said to be working on their own mobile payment system much like Google Wallet (which, incidentally, is likely the reason Verizon blocked Google Wallet on the Galaxy Nexus when it launched).

More than two years ago we began hearing rumors that the iPhone 4 would have NFC. When the iPhone 4 launch came and went with no mention of NFC, it was thought that Apple might include it in the iPhone 5. In October the iPhone 5 was revealed as the iPhone 4S, and still NFC technology was notably absent. Now, of course, rumors are flying that the next iPhone will finally have the technology built in. Though hardly an direct confirmation, McLaughlin’s statements are strongly suggest that those rumors are correct.

[Via Fast Company]

A representative from Mastercard, Ed McLaughlin has hinted that Apple is going to include NFC in the new smartphones. In an interview he did with Fastcompany McLaughlin stated:

“I don’t know of a handset manufacturer that isn’t in process of making sure their stuff is PayPass ready.”

PayPass is Mastercard’s plan for NFC and Mr. McLaughlin, being the head of “Emerging Payments” at Mastercard, is set to be the first to know about such technology besides Apple itself.

Not much more is known at this time about NFC and iPhone, but if any developments occur, WebProNews will report on the situation.

The survey revealed that 8% of customers want to buy a new television before the Super Bowl. Surprisingly, of those who bought a new TV last year for the game, over half of them plan on buying an even newer television for this year.

It seems a bigger and better picture quality trumps the actual live game; why chance sitting in the nose bleed section when you can almost be on the field with a high-def TV set? 25% of those surveyed said the size of their TV depended on how pleasurable their viewing experiences would be. According to consumers, high resolution is the most important factor when purchasing a new TV; sound quality even came in second to picture quality. According to Jeff Haynes:

“Bigger is better. The reason people are spending more is they are upgrading the size of their television. Consumers have moved from wanting televisions around 42 inches to now buying 46 inches to 55 inches, the TV has become the center piece of the American family room and the difference in just a few more inches is noticeable.”

As online shopping gains momentum, in-store television buying is on the decline. The survey say 67% of people planning to buy a tv before the big game, plan on purchasing theirs online rather than the old fashioned store.

Cam Newton hits Steve Smith for a 55-yard touchdown to give the NFC a 35-31 lead over the AFC in the 3rd quarter of the 2012 Pro Bowl!

— Carolina Panthers (@Panthers) January 30, 2012

Amazing what you can do when you have a quarterback that can throw to you. Gee Whiz! fb.me/PtiPqdrV

— Randall Boren (@tide3146) January 30, 2012

Congrats to the AFC for winning the 2012 NFL Pro Bowl (59-41) and to Brandon Marshall for being named MVP! See… fb.me/1iHgXSV2L

— Power Balance (@powerbalance) January 30, 2012

Brandon Marshall is ridiculous! How in the world does he catch that touchdown pass in the endzone during the Pro… sulia.com/c/pro-bowl-201…

— Omar Kelly (@OmarKelly) January 30, 2012

Pro Bowl is Missing a Skills Competition ftsy.fb411.com/186d4L

— Brian Hayashi (@ffootball) January 30, 2012

Niner Nation >> 2012 Pro Bowl Results: Andy Lee, David Akers Dominate Special Teams For 49ers buzztap.com/-ZQM9u7

— San Francisco 49ers (@49ersbuzztap) January 30, 2012

The Steel Curtain: Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger Throws Two Touchdowns, WR Antonio Brown Allows One As AFC Roll… sbn.to/znWivh

— Pittsburgh Steelers (@Stillers) January 30, 2012

It’s just the Pro Bowl, but was Brandon Marshall’s TD catch the best this year? bit.ly/ApsYfD

— Jason McIntyre (@TheBigLead) January 30, 2012

Now that the game has been played and the blood has been cleaned, did your favorite conference win? Did any of your favorite players make the first team cut? Let us know how you feel about the game in the comments.

Near-field communication (NFC) technology has been drawing quite a bit of attention lately. The technology has been making its way into a variety of devices, including MasterCard’s PayPass system, and several recent models of Android-based smartphone. There are a number of applications that use the technology for a variety of tasks, including exchanging files and and contact information. There are also a number of systems either in the works or already available that allow smartphone owners to use their phone’s NFC capabilities to as a mobile wallet, much like MasterCard’s aforementioned PayPass system. Mobile carriers Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile are cooperating to bring a mobile payment system called ISIS online, while Google recently released their own Google Wallet mobile payment solution (though not without difficulties).

Rumors circulated widely at the beginning of this year that the iPhone 5 (eventually released as the iPhone 4S) would include NFC technology, however that turned out not to be the case. The iPhone rumor mill is unusually quiet for this time of year – owing, no doubt, to the later-than-normal release of the current iPhone model. When it grinds back into action, however, we can probably expect NFC to pop up again.

There is no information on what exactly Intel intends to do with the technology to which it gains access as part of this deal, however the potential applications are legion. Intel makes chips that go in an array of devices ranging from computers to smartphones and tablets to televisions to in-car infotainment systems. There are a myriad of potential uses for NFC in any of these devices.

“This is just one of the many ways PayPal is using different types of technologies to create an entirely new way for people to shop and pay – anytime, anywhere and on any device,” a representative for the company tells WebProNews.

“At this morning’s session, I had the privilege of demoing our new NFC-enabled Android widget that lets people pay and get paid in a matter of seconds by simply tapping together two Samsung Nexus S phones,” Chambers wrote on the PayPal blog.

“You have to use it to believe it, but with a simple ‘buzz’ you’ll be able to transact with friends, family, colleagues and employees easier than ever before,” she added. “Sometimes the most obvious solutions are the most elegant.”

Yesterday, we looked at how PayPal might be able to help us survive the impending zombie apocalypse. While this turned out to be a community-made video rather than a PayPal commercial, it still appears to highlight the direction the company is looking to go in:

Here are a few tweets from the company from the conference:

“PayPal is again leading the pack by bringing NFC payments to life on the Android platform,” said Chambers.

Something tells me Google might have something to say about that before it’s all said and done.

Google will use NFC (Near Field Communication) technology to allow users to make payments with a swipe of their smartphones at retailers equipped with NFC capable POS systems.

NFC is a short range wireless technology that allows two devices to communicate information if they are in close proximity to one another.  NFC chips can be integrated into a handset or on the device’s SIM card.

Currently, NFC is available on the Sprint Nexus S Android smartphone, but the sources say that the NFC and mobile payments will be available on other Sprint phones as well.

According to Bloomberg, Google plans to introduce the mobile payment service in five cities – New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago and Washington DC. They are using technology from VeriFone and ViVOtech to run the service say the sources.

Google has sent out invitations to a press conference in New York on Thursday.

Early reports about the upcoming iPhone (whether it be the 4S or the 5) indicated that Apple would be introducing NFC technology for mobile payments. But recent reports say that it is unlikely that the new iPhones will have mobile payment functionality.

Foursquare and Google have worked together to allow attendees the ability to check-in using Near-field communication (NFC).  Briefly, NFC is short wave wireless communication.  It is usually invoked during the discussion of mobile payments but it has a ton of other applications.

Basically, two NFC enabled devices are able to transmit information just by being relatively close to one another.  At the I/O conference, Google has placed NFC checkpoints all around the convention center.  Users with NFC enabled devices (most new Android phones, wink, Google) can simply tap their phones against a poster checkpoint and check-in automatically.

From the 4sq blog:

NFC is, obviously, a long way from being available everywhere and in all phones, but we’re excited by some of the potential. Google I/O attendees: have fun tapping in.

NFC capabilities are not available in all devices yet, but its frequency is growing.  As the 4sq blog points out, most newer Android phones are NFC enabled.  There are rumors that both the iPhone 5 and the new Windows Phone will come capable of NFC.

Foursquare employees have already been testing out check-ins using NFC, according to this tweet from product manager Noah Weiss:

It seems like it is a strong possibility that NFC check-ins will become the norm in the months and years to come.  NFC “checkpoints” can be embedded in almost anything, and it would give users a more streamlined location sharing experience.  Instead of going through the current check-in process, you can just tap your phone on something and go.

The current check-in process was recently call “clunky and heavy” by Foursquare CEO Dennis Crowley  at a Girls in Tech event.  There, he outlined the future of the company, which involves an improved check-in system where users may be prompted to check-in at places they commonly frequent or directed to go somewhere because their friends are hanging out there.

Will NFC check-ins brighten your experience with Foursquare or other check-in services?

If you are a Nokia fan, plan on purchasing the new Nokia C7 smartphone and looking to spice up your relationship with Angry Birds, today is a good day for you.  Nokia has announced on their official blog that the latest release from Angry Birds developers Rovio will be at this weeks WIMA conference.  WIMA, if you were unaware, is the world’s largest conference dedicated to NFC (Near Field Communication).

The new edition of the popular game is called “Angry Birds Free with Magic.”  The “magic” referred to is the NFC that is worked into the game.  The game will come preinstalled in the Nokia C7 smartphone as part of the Symbian Anna update.  It will also be included on all of Nokia’s NFC enabled devices this year.  A full version of the game will come at a later date.

Here’s how it works:  The game will initially have 20 levels of structure-crumbling pig-annihilating action.  Only 5 of those levels, however, will be initially accessible to players.  The other levels must be unlocked by “bumping” your phone with another phone that has the game installed.  The rest of the new levels will be unlocked 5 at a time using NFC.  That means players will need to find 3 people, either friends or strangers, to bump with to unlock the remaining levels.

Or, players can unlock the levels by finding objects embedded with NFC tags.  Clues about locations of such objects are said to be forthcoming.  Oh boy, I smell an ad-supported scavenger hunt!

“With Angry Birds Magic, friends can group together to combat the pig menace, in a new take on the game that so many people all over the world have fallen love with,” said Mikael Hed from Rovio. “This is an exclusive offering with the Nokia C7, a smartphone that really kicks off the NFC experience for developers. In time, the communal power of users with Angry Birds Magic could prove even stronger than the Mighty Eagle.”

Cute.  Hopefully, new innovations in Angry Birds technology can find their way to other platforms.  I really do miss that game – but once you get 3 stars on everything…I mean, what’s a guy to do?  I guess I do have Angry Birds Easter to look forward to, but somehow it’s not really hyping me up.

You might recall the NFC technology has been in the news as of late, for a little more constructive reason.  Many new smartphones such as the Windows Phone and iPhone 5 have been said to contain the NFC technology that would make mobile payments a common thing.

But this is a fun use of NFC indeed.  And remember, if you are sad that you won’t have access to Angry Birds Magic with NFC or if you are still unbearably obsessed with 3-starring every level, then Mike Tyson will slap that addiction right out of your hands.

Last week we told you about iPhone 5 rumors that suggested NFC may be a part of the much anticipated smartphones.  Last December, the Google phone Nexus S was released with NFC capabilities, of course running on the Android OS.  Today, two anonymous sources have confirmed that the upcoming Windows Phone from Microsoft will be NFC capable.

From Bloomberg:

Microsoft plans to include mobile-payment technology in new versions of its operating system for smartphones as part of an effort to narrow Google Inc.’s lead in handset software, said the people, who asked to remain anonymous because the features aren’t public. The first devices boasting these features may be released this year, the people said.

According to technological researchers Gartner Inc, mobile payments may be used in 245 billion dollars worth of transactions in 2014, up from $32 billion in 2010.  It is obvious that NFC and mobile payments is something that consumers desire.  Companies like Verifone that build POS terminals are beginning to include NFC in all new models.  Smartphones capable of providing reliable NFC might have an edge in the future market.

According to a study by the IDC, the Windows Phone will lose handily to Android, iPhone and Blackberry in 2011.  They also suggest that with Nokia’s adoption of the Windows Phone to replace Symbian, 2015 may see Microsoft pull into second place in the market, with over 20% of the share.  Adding mobile payments to the mix may help them out even more.