Nokia has unveiled its Lumia 610 NFC model, first to take the emerging near-field communication technology that drives instant payment systems to Microsoft’s Windows Phone platform, and promised more models in the future. Nokia Lumia 610 NFC features a 3.7″ inch display, 5 MP camera, and 800 MHz Qualcomm processor.
“We’re bringing NFC right across our portfolio, and together with our ever-growing range of NFC accessories we’re making it easy for people to connect via a single tap,” Ilari Nurmi, marketing chief at Nokia smartphone unit, said in a press statement.
Near Field Communication technology enables devices to communicate with each other over radio frequencies without any physical contact (much like Bluetooth). For instance, you can simply swipe your NFC enabled phone to make a payment at a NFC enabled vendor, as an alternative to paying by credit card. Banks around the world have done away with detailed authorization checks for NFC transactions below certain amount, which means the entire transaction is completed much faster. This phone can be used to pay for goods, store electronic tickets, download music and swap photos and business cards.
Nokia said Orange will be the first operator to sell the Lumia 610 NFC in Europe – which has been certified for contactless payments both with MasterCard and Visa technologies – starting early in the third quarter of 2012.
Lumia 610 NFC is the eighth smartphone and the first Windows Phone from Nokia that comes with NFC hardware. As Windows Phone platform lacks the native support for NFC, Nokia has added its own NFC software on top of Windows Phone along with the necessary hardware.
Sales of NFC enabled cellphones are expected to more than triple to 100 million handsets this year as manufacturers and operators roll out new models, hoping to tap emerging market for mobile payments, research firm Berg Insight said last month.
