back to article What will Google do with NFC?

Yesterday Google's CEO, Eric Schmidt, demonstrated an Android handset with integrated NFC. And while conventional wisdom says that's not enough to kick-start proximity payments, Google has never followed convention before. Gingerbread, the next incarnation of the Android OS, will have a standard API for interaction with Near …

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  1. Code Monkey
    Thumb Down

    I, Luddite

    Like a lot of Reg readers I'm sceptical of every new "paradigm shifting" technolodgy "revolution" that comes along but I'm positively Luddite about this one.Who benefits other than thieves and the banks (as we spunk our accounts into the red with even less idea of what we're spending)?

    DO NOT WANT!

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Thumb Up

      not here...

      I have to say I like new tech that makes life easier, it doesn't mean I'm going to loose my common sense and splash cash everywhere. "Less idea of what were spending on"? the same was said with credit cards and before that cheques.. however my level of common sense remains stable.

      Yes we all pay with our cards and the banks charge the retailers 5-10% and no-one bats an eyelid this is where the crime is paying at the moment perhaps new tech can help where the tech we have is already failing.

      easy tech WANT.

      safe tech WANT.

    2. thecakeis(not)alie

      "Who benefits other than thieves and the banks?"

      I don't understand the difference between the two.

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Unhappy

    Smooth Operator

    "Meanwhile Nokia, is left rueing the day it ever let operators tell it what to do."

    Operators are in essence the greedy bastards of the industry, They are the whole embodyment of all that is wrong with capitalism, too many 'suits' not enough sense.

    Google needs to be wary that it too does not fall foul of the suit, too many inspirational minds have left of late.

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    As far as I'm concerned

    I might as well have all my banking and credit details printed on a huge sign and carry that around with me.

    Also "DO NOT WANT!"

    1. StooMonster

      Web2.0rhea too

      Version 2.0 will inform your "friends" of all your spending too.

  4. MontyMole

    Payment history used for targetted advertising?

    All that payment history will be useful for even more targeted advertising delivered directly to you on your mobile phone.

  5. Bassey

    Massive Ignorance

    Their does seem to be a massive amount of ignorance about how these things will work - even amongst the supposedly well-educated and tech-savvy Reg readership. To the Daily Mail touting fear-mongers above, a thief cannot wipe you out by getting your NFC chip - or not in the way you seem to be suggesting.

    For a start, NFC payments will only work for a small value transaction. Cup of coffee, trip on the tube, newspaper and a bar of chocolate, itunes download. That sort of thing. A thief is going to need to drink a HELL of a lot of coffee to wipe out your average bank account.

    There is a suggestion that you could also either set a daily limit or top-up your NFC account like you might top up a PAYG card. This is where I don't like the idea of NFC being embedded in your smartphone. For a lot of us our smartphone will be our means of topping up our account or changing our daily limit. Whilst there will be extra security levels in place, for me, this creates too much of a single point of failure and I'd far rather the NFC chip be embedded in my existing plastic cards.

    1. Charles 9

      Trouble is...

      ...the plastic cards ALREADY have contactless payment standards (Visa PayWave, MasterCard PayPass, AmEx ExpressPay, even Discover has Zip).

    2. Code Monkey

      My concern

      My concern is not being wiped out. I'm clear that NFC transactions are only good for small amounts. Even that small amount is going to be a motivation for some wee shite.

      So nicking my phone isn't going to clear me out but is going to be a massive ballache.

    3. Sooty

      A thief doesn't need to wipe you out

      To cause you serious problems, small value transactions add up!

      Imagine them getting 2-3 cups of coffee from starbucks every day and you paying for it. You might not notice anything is amiss, but left to it, they'll be taking over £2000 a year from you! Add a sandwich here, a paper/magazine there and those small value transactions don't seem so small anymore! It may not empty your bank account, but it could be enough to cause you to miss mortgage payments!

      I do not want any financial transaction system that does not require a specific act on my part to initiate communication with a specific device, such as physically inserting one into the other.

    4. Anonymous Coward
      Troll

      Of course

      We all know that waving your phone around at a tube station is a great idea!

      DO NOT WANT ALSO

  6. Andy Hards
    Unhappy

    My bank account could be wiped out by a cup of coffee.

    Just sayin

  7. Version 1.0 Silver badge
    Happy

    Oh that's a relief

    I thought they were buying Newcastle Football Club

  8. Anonymous Coward
    Stop

    thirsty lowlifes

    For those suggesting small value transactions can wipe out huge sums - there is a low limit to those even to those before additional security kicks in. If some lowlife expects to get a free supply of coffee from your NFC device they're going to go very thirsty...

  9. Anonymous Coward
    WTF?

    In the real world -

    thieves don't steal coffee.

  10. Chris Fox

    Perfect confidentiality

    "...a secure element which can store cryptographic secrets in perfect confidentiality."

    so that would be Write Only Memory?

    http://www.national.com/rap/files/datasheet.pdf

  11. Anonymous Coward
    Thumb Down

    Not another one...

    I've only just disabled the bl**dy new contactless debit card the bank tried to force on me.

  12. Steve 13
    Thumb Down

    It adds up?

    @AC - so you expect to have your phone nicked, and not notice for a year... Are you a bit slow or something?

    Frankly I'd be more bothered about having my phone nicked than the potential for the thief to spend £2.50 before I cancel the payment device!

    I don't really see the point of this convergence though, I'd use NFC embedded in my switch card, afterall the bank already gets to know about every transaction, why do I need it embedded in my phone as well?

  13. Wim Ton

    Advantage of NFC

    As NFC is linked to the phone, it can have a user interface, contrary to a contactless card.

    So you may be able to switch the payment function on/off or have a overview off all transactions.

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