According to research from IMS Research, 35 million Near Field Communications (NFC) enabled phones were shipped globally in 2011.
There has also been some well known joint venture and collaborations between different players of the NFC ecosystem, significant examples include:
- The launch of Google Wallet in the US
- The French Government funding NFC in several cities in France
- Orange UK and Barclaycard’s “Quick Tap” contactless payment solution launched in May 2011 and already adopted by retailers including McDonald’s, EAT, Pret-a-Manger and Boots.
Senior anlyst at IMS Research, Don Tait said “After seven or so years of false dawns and frequent disappointment, 2011 has proved to be something of a breakthrough year. Most of the leading cellular handset manufacturers have launched NFC-enabled handsets over the last 12 months. They include Samsung, RIM, Nokia and HTC. Apple is the main player yet to release an NFC-enabled handset.”
Sales of NFC enabled phones are expected to further increase to 80 million in 2012. The use of the technology in high profile events such as the 2012 Olympics in London and the the launch of the ISIS initiative in Austin Texas and Salt Lake City in Utah in the first half of 2012 will also boost the profile of NFC.
