Global Sales of NFC Phones to Surge 128% in 2012

Taipei, Dec. 21, 2011 (CENS)--Fueled by increasing usage of mobile payment services in developed countries of the world, global sales of NFC (near field communication)-enabled phones are estimated to total 80 million units in 2012 for a 128% growth compared to 2011, according to the global market analyst IMS Research.

NFC technology, in fact, has been heavily promoted by telecom service companies worldwide since several years ago, but has yet to become as sought-after as expected. For instance, the NFC-based service i-Mode Felica, the world's first mobile payment service incorporating card key verifications launched by NTT DoCoMo, one of Japan's leading telecoms in cooperation with Sony, proved a failure in many countries excluding Japan.

IMS Research indicated that one reason why NFC-based services, despite years of promotions, remain globally unpopular with handset users is the technological obstacle to fusion for comparatively bulky NFC chipsets with feature phones, which is especially significant when market trends have moved towards smaller-sized, thin and light handsets over the past years.

Besides, the market researcher noted, financial firms' inertia in adopting mobile payment systems inaugurated by telecom companies is also another hindrance to the commercialization of NFC technology. Therefore, development of the market for NFC-based services and related phones has progressed very slowly as a result.

However, the market seems to simmer starting in 2011, as Google has actively promoted its Google Wallet, a NFC-based mobile payment system built in Android, and intended to improve it with a system for recognition of user's biological patterns for better online payment security.

Perhaps following Google's footstep, U.S.'s big three telecom service providers, namely AT&T, Verizon and Sprint, have also announced the joint development of ISIS, a mobile commerce network that is enabled for NFC-based mobile payments via smartphones and scheduled to be operational on a trial basis in the first half of 2012. Riding on the wave, the world's major smartphone developers, including Samsung, Nokia, RIM and HTC, have also launched a number of NFC-enabled phones over the past year.

In regard of the uptrend, IMS Research projected sales of over 35 million NFC-enabled smartphones for 2011. The market researcher furthered that the number may sharply surge to 80 million units in 2012, partly because of the launch of ISIS in the U.S., and partly because of the opening of London Olympics, which will provide a venue for the newest NFC technology and applications from different companies and organizations, including Telefonica UK, Samsung and Visa.