Nokia Oyster Card

Posted: April 23rd, 2009 | Author: Sermad | Filed under: Mobile, RFID | Comments

Nokia took a major step closer to creating a mobile phone/oyster card as it launched the 6216 handset. It is the third Nokia handset with Near Field Communication (NFC) built in, but this one goes the extra step but putting the security protocols onto the SIM card.

So now, Orange can come out with a SIM card that allows your phone to behave just like your Oyster card or even a debit card. The phone could now pay for things on the underground/buses, vending machines, corner shops etc. If there was an over the air (OTA) way of topping up your phone then you would never be stuck getting on a bus with no credit – This is huge stuff in the world of contactless payments.

This technology could be used for creative ways – to trigger content but ‘touching’ the device on things. See the proof of concept below using an Iphone – check the very bulky NFC reader attached to the Iphone – If Nokia can roll out the NFC reader onto all handsets then this could be a major coup.

I need to check the tech but I would imagine that if two handsets ‘touched’ each other – you could pass on your business card or your social networking profiles – A way to share all your twitter/facebook/myspace names by touch would be just amazing.

Via Nokia Conversations


iPhone RFID: object-based media from timo on Vimeo.

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  • "I need to check the tech but I would imagine that if two handsets ‘touched’ each other - you could pass on your business card or your social networking profiles"

    In the meantime, you could buy a Poken and some epoxy...
  • sermad
    Poken are wicked if your 12 years old and a Japanese school girl.
  • But epoxy is for l33t hax0rs? I've actually got quite a few friends who've got 'em, none of whom are 12 or at school. If you're less inclined to toys there's always E too. Same requirement for adhesive though. The market's already filling up with NFC devices... Nokia seem to have a fairly rocky track record with openness, although separating protocols from the reader is a great step in the right direction. What are the chances of them bringing out something that would work with other devices? Or will that be in the hands of the network providers?

    Did you see the Oyster credit card (Barclays?) that came out a few years back? Also interesting - rolling all your payment methods into a single card.

    I'm still a bit leery of NFC devices. The potential is incredible but so far the big companies (and countries!) haven't done a particularly good job of protecting their devices:
    http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/14/oyster-cards...
    http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/03/06/daily_m...
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