9to5mac has reported today that the upcoming iPhone 5 will have NFC support, and developers are already building apps.
Apparently, Apple iOS engineers are “heavy into NFC” and devs are “confident enough to bet the app development on.”
What remains unclear is who Apple will partner with for its payment systems, and the report has some speculation based on recent reports and interviews.
First comes from Ed McLaughlin, the boss of emerging payments at MasterCard: “The timeline is always as rapid as it makes sense for consumers. (In regards to mass NFC adoption) That’s a combination of having a critical mass of the merchants, which is what you’re seeing right now, and getting devices into the hands of consumers. I don’t know of a handset manufacturer that isn’t in process of making sure their stuff is PayPass ready.”
McLaughlin would not specifically say Apple, however except to say, “well, anytime someone with a major base moves forward, it advances what you’re doing. So of course [Apple is necessary in NFC reaching critical mass].”
While the exec was sidestepping the question a bit, it is very clear even to the casual observer that Apple and PayPass would certainly bring NFC to “critical mass” in the next couple of years.
Result for: speculation
Bloomberg has reported this weekend that Nokia has lost so much value over the past few years that its stock is now worth 50 percent less than if the company was sold and broken up.
At its peak, Nokia was worth $300 billion before Apple and Google introduced their smartphone operating systems but is now worth just over $25 billion.
If you were to separate its mobile, infrastructure equipment, mapping software and accounting businesses, Bloomberg says the company would be worth $39 billion, based on current comparable valuations of patents.
There has been speculation that Microsoft is willing to buy Nokia’s mobile phone business, but Nokia has denied the rumors.
Nokia’s stock currently trades at $6.65 per share, the lowest it has since 1998.
Result for: speculation
One day after the Wall Street Journal reported that a Verizon iPhone 4 was coming on Tuesday, sources speaking to Reuters have confirmed the claims.
Sales of the device are expected to launch in early February.
As with all prior reports, Apple and Verizon have not commented on the “speculation.”
AT&T has been the exclusive American carrier for the iPhone since its inception in 2007. Analysts have warned that losing the exclusivity pact, and the strong growth driver that is the iPhone, may affect the company’s bottom line for some time. Other analysts have warned that frustrated AT&T iPhone owners may jump ship to Verizon, who is known to have the most reliable network of the major carriers.
On the other hand, analysts also claim that a majority of AT&T’s iPhone owners are part of family plans, which are much harder to cancel as they involve, on average, three family members.
Furthermore, many are new upgraders or purchasers, and AT&T charges very heavy early termination fees.
