catching up., yes new cellphones. Options

[pandamonium]

Everyone who knows me or reads my threads knows that i am very jealous with japan and korea on how they are so freaking advanced in technology. But i think we are catching up with them slightly.

I found this article again on engadget, saying how cingular might team up with citigroup on making phones that could be used as credit cards by tapping the cellphone on various surfaces. Japan already has this with their cellphones which is awesome and, while this whole nokia having NFC (near field communications) it will only be in new york which is a small step but certainly a step.

It works just like the card that you tap on the platform.

Details emerge on Cingular's NFC plans



We'd previously noticed that Cingular was collaborating with Citigroup on some sort of mobile payment system in New York City, though details were pretty slim for the picking at the time; now the carrier has come out with full disclosure on exactly what it is they have up their sleeves. Like its Atlanta trial last year, the New York program involves Nokia handsets fitted with NFC (near-field communication) guts -- though for the sake of the trial participants, we hope Cingular is offering something a little more up-to-date than the lowly 3220 this time around. Unlike Atlanta, however, Cingular has switched up their financial partner from Chase / Visa to Citi / Mastercard, giving users the ability to use their phone for payment anywhere Mastercard's PayPass system is accepted. Parties involved expect the trial to last a total of three to six months, at which point we should all have a better perspective on how folks feel about shedding cash by tapping their cellphones against various surfaces. Of course, Japan seems to like it just fine -- so why not us?