Smartphone devices running NFC are still rare, but there are a few. The Samsung Nexus S and Samsung Galaxy S2 in Korea are among the popular ones. Most likely the iPhone 5 and the Nexus Prime will also feature NFC capabilities. In the meantime, Sharp came out with the first tablet to run NFC.
The Sharp tablet will first be released in Japan this fall, and is known as the Sharp RW-T107. This 7-inch Android tablet will be running Android 2.3 Gingerbread and will work on Sony ‘s Felica NFC system. If conclusive, the Sharp tablet may be ported to a more general NFC technology that could work in the US along Google’s upcoming Google Wallet system.
In Japan, NFC is already a common form of payment. We’ll just have to see if Japanese get used to pay with their tablet. And that’s probably why Sharp didn’t venture in the 10.1-inch tablet with this NFC technology. Imagine digging out your tablet to pay for something? I think that 7-inch sized tablet should suffice for this purpose. No? Do you think NFC have its place on tablets?
[Via nfcnews]
