NFC central
At the Web 2.0 Summit 2010, Google CEO Eric Schmidt came on stage to offer the internet giant's first official comment on both the next version of Android and the handset that is expected to pioneer it.
We were unable to watch the live stream, and a recording of the interview is yet to be published by organiser O'Reilly Media, but Tech Trader Daily was there, so we're deriving our account from theirs.
Schmidt showed-off an ‘unannounced device' generally presumed to be the successor to the Nexus One - the Nexus S (presumably in reference to its similarity to the Samsun Galaxy S). He was keen to stress the near-field communication (NFC) capability of the phone, which runs on Gingerbread - the next version of Android presumed to be 2.3.
Talk moved onto the familiar ground of mobile phones replacing wallets. You're probably more familiar with NFC technology than you think, as it's what under-pins Oyster card touch-points on the London Underground. The theory is that we will soon be able to play for stuff in shops by merely waving our mobile phones at pay-points, having previously used the camera to identify and select the item.
Looking around the web, it doesn't look like anyone got to spend quality time with the Nexus S, nor is there any more detail released about Gingerbread. But Schmidt clearly wants to bring attention to NFC on Android, and there's every reason to believe it will be a trailblazer for this exciting technology and its real-world implementations.
Schmidt pointed out that a lot of the technology required to make NFC commerce on mobile phones is already in place. Our understanding is that the biggest obstacle is the financial services providers, who ultimately are the ones responsible for protecting their customers from mistakes, fraud, etc. He reckons the standard has pretty much already been agreed to.
