Microsoft developing mobile payments system for Windows Phone

According to sources, Microsoft is joining Google and Apple in the race to integrate NFC mobile payments technology into its smartphone platform, Windows Phone.

New rumors suggest that, much like Google and Apple, Microsoft may be working on its own mobile payments software for Windows Phone 7 using the popular Near-Field Communications (NFC) technology. The software would be integrated into a future version of the mobile OS and is intended to help Microsoft keep pace with Android and iOS. However, Redmond may move a bit faster with the technology. Bloomberg reports that the first WP handsets with NFC built in may be released this year.

NFC is a new, more secure wireless payment system that allows a device to be flicked past or held about 2-4 inches from a reciever to make a payment, much like many credit card companies touted RFID-equipped cards (which are very insecure) a few years back. Some gas stations and grocery stores still have the little wireless payment receivers on top of the credit card machines, but the technology has not caught on as fast as some had hoped. Wireless carriers and platform operators are hoping that NFC technology could help phones become the next credit cards.

However, though NFC integration seemed imminent a few months back, more recent rumors indicate that it may be a while longer before Google and Apple fully integrate NFC, giving Microsoft a head start, should it move quickly. Google is preparing to test its mobile payments system in New York City and San Francisco within the next four months, and has signed deals with Mastercard and Citigroup. In Europe, Deutsche Telekom (who recently sold T-Mobile to AT&T) announced in February that it plans to aggressively roll out NFC payments this year.

It looks like NFC may launch on almost every major smartphone platform in the next year or two. Are you ready to give up that credit card and start swiping your phone to pay?

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Europe is the most connected, but mobile phone use is rising around the world

Nokia has created a graphic that shows the penetration rates of mobile phones around the world. Europe leads the pack, but the Americas aren't far behind.

Wonder how many mobile phones are floating around your country? Well, Nokia has taken official numbers from the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) and plotted them on a big, colorful world map. Unfortunately, the Finnish handset maker didn’t translate the numbers to make sense to anyone outside of the industry, but hey, that’s what we’re here for.

Europe and the CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) are the most connected with about 12.5 mobile phones for every 10 people, followed by The Americas with about 9 phones for every 10 people. Worst is Africa with only 4 phones for every 10 people. The full list is below.

What the numbers mean:

Europe: 12.5 phones for every 10 peopleCIS: 12.5 phones for every 10 peopleAmericas: 9 phones for every 10 peopleArab States: 7.7 phones for every 10 peopleAsia & Pacific: 6.7 phones for every 10 peopleAfrica: 4 phones for every 10 people

It should be noted that if you remove old people and kids from the equation, all of these numbers likely rise dramatically. It also varies by location greatly and this graphic is very broad. To check out other cool infographics, head here.

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T-Mobile G2x: hands-on with LG’s HDMI Mirroring Android phone

The T-Mobile G2x by LG is a solid new dual-core Android phone, but we're very impressed with its HDMI Mirroring, which lets users instantly stream content to an HDTV. CTIA impressions inside.


T-Mobile (soon to be AT&T) and LG have a great relationship. Together, the companies are working together on the G-Slate tablet and a new premium Android phone, the T-Mobile G2x. I got my hands on the G2x yesterday afternoon and it has some impressive features. Most notably, the ability to instantly stream HDMI content (via its Mini HDMI port). This feature is called HDMI Mirroring. When connected to a big screen, I was able to actually use the phone as a controller and play Android games on a 40-inch TV screen. This feature isn’t brand new, but out of the box, it’s an interesting addition.

The G2x doesn’t skimp much on specs either. It runs Android 2.2 (2.3 coming, they tell me), can run on T-Mobile’s HSPA+ high speed network, has a 1GHz Tegra 2 dual-core processor, 4.0-inch display (480×800), 512MB of RAM, and 8GB of internal storage. The rear camera pumps out 8MP images with a built-in flash and can record 1080p video at 24fps–the front camera is 1.3MP.

LG’s Optimus UI add-on to Android is pretty minimal and mostly lets Google’s OS do its thing, which I like, and the overall experience was very snappy, if a bit standard for an Android device. For the most part, this is a good looking, solid new Android phone with a responsive and bright screen. We look forward to checking it out at launch, but it appears to be a great addition to T-Mobile’s burgeoning Android lineup.

I’ve included a short video below from the show floor below that runs through some of the features. Please forgive the lack of focus.