In addition to the NFC technology, the Nokia 6216 classic also has a built in 2 megapixel camera, stereo FM radio and music player, 3G connectivity and a microSD slot which is expandable up to 8GB. The Nokia 6216 classic is expected to start shipping in the third quarter of 2009 in select markets with an estimated retail price of EUR 150 before taxes and subsidies.

Nokia 6216 Specifications

• Network: GSM/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900, WCDMA 850/2100
• User Interface: Enhanced Series 40 platform
• Dimensions:14.5 x 47.1 x 114.7 mm
• Weight:88 g
• Display:16.7 million color TFT 2 inch QVGA
• Battery: Nokia Battery BL-4, 1000 mAh
• Memory:22 Mb user memory, support for up to 8GB microSD memory card
• Talk time:Up to 2 hrs 45 min (3G),3 hrs 20 min (GSM)
• Standby time:Up to 300 hrs (3G & GSM)
• Bluetooth
• Micro-USB connector

[via slashgear]

The trial will make it possible for Kasikornbank customers to walk into a store that accepts contactless payments and to purchase goods simply by waving a NFC mobile phone over the contactless reader at the point of sale. Purchases will be charged directly to the customer’s Kasikornbank credit card account.

Participants in the Kasikornbank mobile payment trial will use their NFC-enabled Nokia 6212 mobile devices to make purchases at more than 1,000 existing merchant locations in Thailand. Near Field Communication (NFC) is a short-range wireless connectivity standard that enables intuitive, simple and safe communication between NFC compatible devices. Products with built-in NFC capability can simplify the way consumer devices interact with one another, helping people to receive and share information and make fast and secure payments.

Venyon’s role in the first stage of the Kasikornbank mobile payment trial is a services partner and in future stages a Trusted Service Manager (TSM). TSM provides neutral and trusted services to service providers, such as banks, retailers and transit operators, and to mobile network operators to enable third party NFC applications to be provisioned over the air (OTA) to the NFC-enabled phones and SIM cards.

“NFC technology holds great potential for changing the way mobile devices are used,” said Mike Concannon, senior vice president of product management for Qualcomm CDMA Technologies. “As part of our ongoing commitment to deliver leading-edge technologies and value to our customers, we are now engaged with leaders in NFC technology to offer reference designs that have this next-generation functionality.”

“About half of all purchases made by consumers last year were made with cash,” notes ABI Research senior analyst Mark Beccue. “Consumers would in many cases prefer cashless transactions when away from home. So around the world solutions providers have leveraged SMS, mobile Internet and downloadable mobile applications to enable mobile commerce and payments. ABI Research calculates the potential revenue in 2013 from mobile transactions using these methods at about $18 billion: a significant opportunity for payment processors.” 

A new ABI Research study examines the potential for mobile payments in four key vertical markets that will drive adoption: taxis, parking, movies, and Internet shopping. While the latter is usually done using credit cards anyway, the first three are areas in which mobile payments could replace cash transactions. The research found that Internet shopping would account for almost three quarters of this mobile commerce revenue in 2013. A further 15% would come from parking, with the balance split about evenly between taxi fares and movie tickets. 

Beccue concludes, “Companies already seizing this mobile payment opportunity include parking solutions provider Verrus, Bharti Airtel and movie theater operators in India, and notably eBay and Amazon – the world’s largest e-commerce merchants – which have enthusiastically embraced mobile transactions with very comprehensive offerings.” 

The new ABI Research study “Mobile Commerce and Payments” examines several emerging markets in which consumers are or will be using their mobile devices to purchase goods or services using SMS and mobile Internet. It highlights important players within the space, suggests who should play and who will benefit, and outlines what MNOs, merchants, and financial services providers can do to take advantage of these opportunities.

The Juniper report found that the mobile payments market, which is today is dominated by purchases of digital goods such as ringtones, music, and games, will in future be driven by subscribers transferring money and using NFC features on their handsets to make purchases. This will drive the overall mobile payments market to grow by a factor of ten between now and 2013.

Report author Howard Wilcox explained: “We see significant opportunities for new services making it easier for the ‘underbanked’ population and migrant workers to make remittances, using their mobile phones as mobile wallets: the services already in operation are seeing rapid growth.” Wilcox added that mobile wallets will incorporate NFC which will enable people to use their mobile phones to pay for small value items such as refreshments and magazines.

The top 3 regions for this sector will be the Far East & China, Western Europe and North America). Together these will account for over 70% of mobile money payments on a gross transaction basis by 2013. However, there will be hurdles to be addressed for the market to reach its tipping point, including NFC handset availability, workable business models and financial legislation.

The Visa applications will first be made available for trial use by interested financial institutions and will allow consumers with the Nokia 6212 classic and a relationship with a participating Visa issuing bank to use their Visa account to pay for goods and services; initiate mobile money transfers to other individuals with Visa accounts; receive near real-time notifications of activity on their Visa account; and “opt in” to receive offers and discounts from merchants.

“Mobile payments and services are one of the most vibrant areas of innovation at Visa, as we seek to accelerate the migration from paper forms of payment to digital money,” said Tim Attinger, head of global product innovation at Visa Inc. “Visa is already better money – more convenient, reliable and secure than cash. Putting Visa payments and exciting new services into the NFC-equipped Nokia 6212 classic adds another layer of convenience and security for Visa account holders and Nokia customers around the world.”

The Nokia 6212 classic includes integrated Near-Field Communications chipsets (NFC) which lets the mobile device behave like a contactless payment card, where consumers simply wave it within a few inches of a special point of sale reader to complete a Visa transaction. Nokia and Visa first demonstrated NFC technology in December 2005 with the launch of the first large scale NFC trial in the United States at the Phillips Arena in Atlanta.

The plans announced today represent the next phase in an ongoing effort between Visa and Nokia to make mobile payments a reality for consumers around the globe. The long-term collaboration between Nokia and Visa has already resulted in multiple trials of Visa mobile payments enabled through NFC technology on four continents, including in the United States with Wells Fargo Bank; in Malaysia with Maybank and Maxis and most recently in London with Barclays Bank.

Interest in having Oyster on their mobile phones was particularly strong with 89% of trialists saying they were interested in taking this up. Over two-thirds of trialists also said that they would be interested in having the Barclaycard Visa payWave feature on their mobile in the future.

The O2 Wallet trial took place over six months between November 2007 and May 2008 and involved 500 trialists. It tested consumer demand for having cards you would normally carry in a wallet, such as Oyster and credit cards, available on a Nokia 6131 NFC mobile phone. To travel on London’s transport system or make purchases in retail stores, the user simply touched the phone against a reader. The trial involved a range of industry leaders including O2, Transport for London, Barclaycard, Visa Europe, TranSys, Nokia and AEG.

“Imagine going out for the night and only taking your mobile phone with you” said Claire Maslen, Head of NFC. “This trial takes us one step forward to achieving this by demonstrating that people want the convenience and practical benefits offered by services like the O2 Wallet.”

The trial provides crucial insights into helping O2 and its partners ensure that the customer experience is right before bringing the O2 Wallet to market:-

• Choice of handsets is crucial – 85% of trialists felt that the make and model of the handset would influence their decision to take up NFC services
• User Interface – while the UI was popular, trialists wanted the ability to manage their accounts and view Oyster and Barclaycard balances through the application
• Security – while this was an important consideration, trialists wanted speed and convenience from using their mobile phone but could see the benefits of being asked for a PIN periodically to enhance security, similar to the contactless card experience today

The market is still guarded and fragmented, but in the long term consumers will not accept to handle multiple devices, cards, accounts and passwords. A long-term pragmatic view and initial cooperation is necessary to enable the paradigm shift that will morph the mobile phone into a terminal for communicating with intelligent objects in the environment. ”Local contact-less services are already available to over 50 million mobile users that can shop, travel and get information by just waving their phones over readers”, said Sabine Ehlers, associate analyst, Berg Insight.

In Japan for example the service is well-established and a great success in terms of number of readers installed, service partners linked and subscriber terminals in use. When it comes to actually applying the technology however, the mass of consumers apparently need time to change deep-rooted behaviours. In Europe the development is held back by uncertainty about business models and the lack of coordination between different players. Especially mobile operators regard the new business field with caution due to its lack of obvious revenues for network owners. Berg Insight does however identify several important contributions from the operators, and reasons why they cannot afford to stay outside this exciting new field. The report gives a thorough technical background to the contact-less mobile field, identifies the best strategies for initial services and how to progress from there, and discusses experiences from a large number of trials and services from around the world. 

see what’s happening in Japan here

By tapping an NFC-enabled tag, consumers can receive new content such as weblinks, audio files or contact data directly to their phone. They can activate a profile in their handset or open applications such as FM radio or web browser. Photos and videos can be easily shared by tapping another NFC-capable phone and pairing with a Bluetooth NFC-enabled device, like the new NFC variant of the Nokia BH-210 headset, happens with just one touch.

The Nokia 6212 classic allows consumers to personalize and edit their own NFC tags, be it for writing calendar entries or setting the alarm clock. The sales pack of the Nokia 6212 classic comes with three sticker tags, one of which opens the NFC introduction in the phone.

The slimline Nokia 6212 classic comes with an extensive set of features such as a 2 megapixel camera, bright 2-inch QVGA display, stereo FM radio and music player supporting multiple formats. An optional microSD memory card of up to 4GB provides ample space for personal content such as images and songs. The Nokia 6212 classic is expected to start shipping in the third quarter of 2008 in select markets in Europe and Asia with an estimated retail price of EUR 200 before taxes and subsidies.

Kyocera Wireless features a retail environment in its booth – complete with inventory and a cash register – to demonstrate the NFC-enabled devices as convenient mobile payment platforms. The Kyocera Tempo E2000 handset has been modified with an NFC chipset from NXP Semiconductors and includes a BREW-based NFC payment wallet software from ViVOtech. It is Kyocera’s latest commercial-grade NFC-enabled handset and it includes biometric authentication technology, providing additional security to transactions.