Electronic Wallet

     Google has announced that it will team up with MasterCard, Inc. and Citigroup, Inc. to equip Android mobile devices with "NFC" technology so that owners will be able to purchase items with a wave of their phones.  NFC technology, or "near field communication technology", involves a mobile-payment Android application and credit-card/debit-card readers that are "contactless devices" meaning that a wave or tap or the cell phone would allow the readers to pick up account information.  VeriFone Systems, also included in Google's venture, makes contactless readers and would supply the readers for cash registers.  According to the WSJ article "Google Sets Role in Mobile Payment" by Amir Efrati and Robin Sidel, the perception that NFC technology is less secure because it is contactless is false.  The technology is much more sophisticated than the standard magnetic stripe and therefore harder to steal.  Also, the credit card companies would cover the cost of unauthorized transactions just like they do with conventional cards.
     Google plans to sell advertising to local businesses by offering them more information on their customers.  With this information, businesses can target advertisements and discount offers to smart phone owners in their area.  For additional information go to: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703576204576226722412152678.html?mod=WSJ_Tech_LEFTTopNews

The Samsung Nexus S Android will be mobile payment capable.

Powering the Hand-held Revolution

     While reading the Wall Street Journal last Thursday, I came across an article called "Getting an ARM Up on Intel" by Rolfe Winkler.  It proceeded to explain that over 90% of all hand-held devices are powered by chips based on architecture developed by a British company called ARM Holdings PLC.  ARM's chips are included in everything from smart phones and tablets to digital cameras and disk drives.  The recently released Ipad 2 includes a processor based on ARM technology that is twice as fast as the first Ipad and still has an impressive 10 hour battery life.  Other devices with ARM chips include the Iphone 4, the Motorola Droid, and the Samsung Galaxy S.
     ARM develops chip designs and then licenses the design to a chip-maker like Texas Instruments or Qualcomm.  According to the article, "Battery life is key.  It's why, in handsets, ARM's architecture dominates.  Intel's brawny processors are speedier, making them ideal for PCs.  Compared to ARM's, however, they gulp electricity, making them a bad fit for battery-powered devices." 
    In 1990, Apple formed a joint venture with ARM (then called Acorn) to develop a chip for Apple's new PDA called the Newton.  The initial investment was $1.5 million.  Apple made $800 million on the investment.  ARM's stock has tripled in value in the last 15 months, and it has a gross profit margin of 94%. ARM has a 5 cent royalty per chip.  Its total revenue in 2010 was $631 million.  The rapidly expanding hand-held market has boosted ARM's sells from 51 million chips based on 30 licenses in 1998 to 6.1 billion chips based on 250 licenses in 2010.  The future looks good for ARM.  I wonder if it's publicly traded?
     For more information go to: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703726904576193213862817184.html?mod=WSJ_Tech_LEFTTopNews

Look Ma, No Hands!

     I came across an article on wsj.com called "If looks Could Kill" by Michael Hickins.  While he was attending the CeBIT technology trade show in Hannover, Germany, he came across an emerging technology that allows the eyes of a computer user to move the cursor on the computer screen. This technology was developed by Tobii Technology, a Swedish company, and jointly presented with Lenovo. 
     The application uses a combination of infrared light, mathematical algorithms, and a high-frequency optical sensor to determine, from the eyes of the user, the exact spot on a computer screen that is being viewed.  The article quotes Sara Hyleen, who is an executive with Tobii, as saying "it can also calculate in 3D the exact position of the eye, so it doesn't matter if you're moving around or not."
     This technology is already being used in scientific and market research.  Scientific research is using this technology with autistic children who have difficulty verbalizing responses.  In marketing research, this technology has been incorporated into glasses that record the location of items that catch a viewer's eyes when looking at a web site or when shopping in a store.  Michael Hickins speculated that the technology would be great in gaming - allowing you to kill bad guys with a look.  I can't help but think that it would be of benefit to the handicapped or paralyzed.  To read the article go to:  http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2011/03/01/if-looks-could-kill/