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May

T-Mobile Releasing Minor Update For Galaxy S4 On May 7th (M919UVUAMDB)

Posted by Kyle Wiggers in Galaxy S4, News, T-Mobile

Though it's been little more than a week since the Galaxy S4 hit T-Mobile airwaves, the carrier's showing the newest member of its smartphone family some love with an incremental update. Rolling out OTA and via Samsung's Kies software, the focus of the patch (version M919UVUAMDB) seems to be on T-Mobile's pre-installed applications, rather than the system software as a whole.

The Visual Voicemail and ISIS apps are set to receive "improvements," whatever that means. Still, it's good to see T-Mobile minimizing bloat while trying to maintain a good user experience so soon after the Galaxy S4's release. The effort is even more impressive when you consider that the GS4 isn't even available on a particular carrier yet.

Oct

Verizon's Motorola DROID RAZR HD And RAZR MAXX HD Now Support Isis Mobile Wallet

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in News, RAZR HD / RAZR MAXX HD, Verizon Wireless

Earlier this week, Isis Mobile Wallet payment platform went live on three U.S. carriers - Verizon, T-Mobile, and AT&T. Verizon had only one device listed as supported at launch, with the DROID RAZR HD / MAXX HD compatibility set to arrive by the end of October. The Galaxy S III was also listed, but according to this list, it doesn't seem to be ready just yet.

Two days ago, Verizon released the first update v0.7.2 for the RAZR HD variants with only a mention of one new feature in the changelog: an "updated Google Security Patch." Today, Verizon amended the update document and added the mention of Isis Mobile Wallet, thus fulfilling its promise right on schedule.

Oct

Isis Mobile Payments Start Today In Salt Lake City And Austin - Here's The Full Breakdown

Posted by David Ruddock in AT&T, News, T-Mobile, Verizon Wireless

Isis launched its mobile payments platform in Salt Lake City, UT and Austin, TX today, in a limited, initial rollout that's probably best viewed as a tech test more than an NFC payments panacea. We've know for quite some time that these would be Isis' launch markets (after numerous delays), and we also had a basic idea of how the system would work: NFC. What wasn't so widely-known is the fact that Isis uses the SIM secure element method to store payment credentials.

This is in contrast to Google Wallet's method, where your virtual MasterCard (used as the medium through which your payments are processed) is stored in a secure element that is typically included as a part of the NFC chip.

Aug

CyanogenMod 9.1 Includes SimplyTapp NFC Payment Support For Nexus Phones And The Galaxy S II

Posted by Jeremiah Rice in News

Jelly Bean may be all the rage at the moment, but the CyanogenMod team hasn't forgotten about their Ice Cream Sandwich implementation. Tucked in with the newly updated CyanogenMod 9.1 is support for the brand new SimplyTapp near-field communication system. SimplyTap is the labor of love of two dedicated CyanogenMod users, with the aim of broadening NFC payment usage via a more open implementation of the embattled standard. Currently the Tapp app is only compatible with CyanogenMod 9.1 - CM10 is moving a little too quickly to reliably add the necessary code.

Naturally, you'll also need an NFC-enabled device to use the SimplyTapp service.

Mar

Google Learns Pursuing Wallet Without Carriers' Blessing Is Suicide, Now Wants To Play Ball

Posted by David Ruddock in Android OS, News

Google Wallet is a great idea - in theory. In practice? The service has been plagued with problems; slow adoption, a lack of NFC devices, the existence of ISIS generally, and a public image crisis after security concerns. The biggest problem, though, has been the decided unwillingness of carriers (except Sprint) to support it.

That's because everyone but Sprint is banking on Isis, which has over $100 million in financial backing from the likes of Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile. Isis, if you're not familiar with it, is pretty much Google Wallet sans the whole Google part. But unlike Isis, Google Wallet doesn't provide any financial incentive for network operators.

Mar

What Is Isis, And Why Should You Care It's Now Partnered With A Bunch Of Payment Companies? Because It's Out To Kill Google Wallet

Posted by David Ruddock in Android OS, Editorials, News

Mobile payment providers. Yeah, I'm already getting a little sleepy thinking about them, too. Let's face it, they're not the most exciting topic in the world, but whenever we talk about how people spend their money, you know there are lots of companies out there eagerly eying the potential of various new payment technologies with great interest. Among such companies are cell phone carriers, and the reason why should be obvious: smartphones with NFC are ideal platforms for next-generation payment systems.

We know Google has already figured this out. Wallet was launched back in September of 2011, though only on the Sprint Nexus S 4G, and only with MasterCard as a launch partner.

Dec

Confirmed: Verizon's Galaxy Nexus To Lack Support For Google Wallet

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Galaxy Nexus, News, Verizon Wireless

In a rather unfortunate bit of news regarding Verizon's Galaxy Nexus, a rumor that the device will not have support for Google Wallet has been confirmed.

A Google spokesperson confirmed to Computer World today that the hotly anticipated Nexus device won't support Google's burgeoning NFC-based mobile payment system, but gave no word as to why Verizon decided to forego the service.

Verizon's decision could have something to do, however, with Isis – a consortium comprised of VZW, AT&T and T-Mobile, who have paired with four major credit card companies to form their own NFC-based payment venture. Of course, this is purely speculation, as there's no official word just yet regarding the Nexus' lack of Wallet functionality.