CONNECTHINGS demos wave NFC platform at Mobile World Congress
February 9, 2010
CONNECTHINGS says it will next week offer the first public demonstration of the Wave-Me NFC services platform when it shows the platform at the GSM Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain. The show runs Feb. 15-18.
Through a partnership with INSIDE Contactless, CONNECTHINGS has built the Wave-Me NFC platform is on its AdTag server, making near field communication possible on a broad range of mobile products and services, moving beyond mere payment and transit applications.
According to a news release from CONNECTHINGS, the demonstration will take place at the INSIDE Contactless booth (No. 8B94) and provide a preview of a pilot project CONNECTHINGS is developing for the Office of Tourism in Marseille — giving visitors electronic coupons for public transportation and entry to museums and other points of interest around the city.
The Wave-Me client software in an NFC handset triggers a back-end transaction on the AdTag server (visible on a PC monitor) when the handset is brought in close proximity to an NFC tag. When the handset is waved near the corresponding NFC tag at the merchant premises, it displays the coupon, providing proof to the merchant that payment has been made.
The Wave-Me NFC services platform offers an end-to-end solution that carriers and third-party service providers can use to give subscribers access to a broad range of consumer services and applications through their mobile phones.
"The Wave-Me NFC services platform provides the critical infrastructure that will enable operators and service providers to transform how people interact with and use their mobile devices," said Loic Hamon, vice president of marketing for NFC at INSIDE Contactless.
Wave-Me technology automatically simulates a complex series of keystrokes and also could contain relevant phone numbers or complex URLs to send SMS messages or send and retrieve information from Web sites. Merchants and other businesses will be able to sponsor Wave-Me applications, with the possibility of displaying branding information on the tag as well as on the handset screen.