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Near Field Communication and all contactless technology

Sony has announced another NFC-enabled Android smartphone, the sola, as part of its Xperia series, one in which it introduces non-NFC-related “floating touch” technology.

Vodafone sees its planned prepaid payment service in its forthcoming NFC mobile wallets as a “business opportunity,” though it intends to enable many other applications, including payment from major banks, Christian Wirtz, group director for mCommerce told NFC Times.

The United Kingdom’s three largest mobile operators have filed their application with European antitrust regulators, seeking approval for their proposed joint venture to help them roll out NFC mobile wallets and services.

While he announced that U.S. mobile operator Sprint will introduce more than 10 additional NFC phones supporting the Google Wallet this year, Osama Bedier, who heads the wallet program at Google, revealed few other details about how the Web giant plans to boost the wallet’s market presence.

BARCELONA – Apple is unlikely to jump into the mobile payments market at the physical point of sale, as PayPal is doing–there’s not enough profit in it for Apple, contends the head of the PayPal Mobile unit.

BARCELONA – Spain’s three major operators, Telefónica, Vodafone Spain and Orange Spain, are finally ready to sign a memo of understanding to work together on a common platform for introduci

BARCELONA – Yet another chip maker is planning to incorporate NFC into its portfolio, with an announcement today by U.S.-based Marvell Technology Group that it would combine NFC with super-fast Wi-Fi and other wireless technologies in chips targeted for mobile and portable devices.

Orange UK has announced what it calls the United Kingdom’s first mobile-contactless retail rewards scheme, enabling subscribers with NFC phones to tap smart posters to receive free food or drink items from a UK restaurant chain.

The 36-hour NFC app development competition being organized by UK-based digital advertising agency Isobar for next month in London promises to be different from the other so-called “hackathons” Isobar put on in Boston and San Francisco last year.

France-based Oberthur Technologies announced today it has won a contract to supply trusted service management to French bank Société Générale, for the bank’s eventual roll out of NFC payment.

LG Electronics today announced a new NFC-enabled Android smartphone, the Optimus LTE Tag, targeted at the South Korean market, which will enable users to change the phone’s settings with a tap of the handset on NFC tags.