How Mobile Payments Will Evolve In the Next Several Years

How Mobile Payments Will Evolve In the Next Several Years:

Mobile payments has become a mainstream tech topic in the last couple of years, mirroring the rise of smartphones and application stores. E-commerce is becoming m-commerce. The focus point of the buzz has been the evolution of near-field communications as related to smartphones. The thing is, nobody in the payments industry expects NFC to be a player in mobile payments for years, if ever. In that case, what does the mobile payments ecosystem look like in the short term?

The current mobile payments market centers around several cores: direct carrier billing, mobile wallets, online and offline sales, mobile credit card readers and application stores. During meetings with various mobile payments experts and executives at CTIA last week, the most uttered phrase was: "This is not something I would use to buy a fridge." Where are mobile payments going?

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Editor's note: This story is part of a series we call Redux, where we're re-publishing some of our best posts of 2011. As we look back at the year - and ahead to what next year holds - we think these are the stories that deserve a second glance. It's not just a best-of list, it's also a collection of posts that examine the fundamental issues that continue to shape the Web. We hope you enjoy reading them again and we look forward to bringing you more Web products and trends analysis in 2012. Happy holidays from Team ReadWriteWeb!

The Non-Promise of NFC

OK, let us get one thing straight: NFC may never be a widely used form of payments. There are so many reasons why it will not be. Foremost, the logistics of NFC are a nightmare. The actual technology is probably ready. The infrastructure around the technology is not. There are too many competing interests coming from above the retail market that creating a universal NFC reader between smartphones and financial services is not going to happen anytime soon. The closest thing to a widely used system would be Mastercard's PayPass, but even as widespread as that is, it is no where near the type of market penetration that would create an inflection point for NFC to take off. Second, PayPass needs a software upgrade to offer any type of deals, something that will be important in the mobile payments world.

See our series on NFC In 2011 for more on the world of NFC payments.

NFC payments on the top of Gartner's Hype Circle

The second half of the NFC conundrum is that there are a lot of hands reaching for the supposed pile of money that NFC payments will enable. Look at Google's announcement of the Wallet product. Or the ISIS partnership between Verizon, T-Mobile and AT&T. Google is partnering with Mastercard, CitiBank, Sprint, FirstData, Verifone, VivoTech (the NFC partner), Hypercom, Ingenico and NXP (another NFC partner). All of these large companies are going to want a slice of the pie.

Where does that leave the retailers? You know, the ones that are actually trying to make money with good and services? Sadly, on the outside of the circle. The carriers are the biggest culprits, wanting to take as much as 50% of transaction revenue because it is "going over their pipes." The financial services companies will be happy taking their normal rates in the 1.75% to 3% range as long as there is a promise that more people will pay electronically (read: sans cash). Between retailers, partners and infrastructure, NFC has years to go before it will be viable for all parties involved.

Can the Google Wallet project really push NFC adoption?

What will happen in this time frame? Think about the so-called "4G" technology WiMax. The technology is already becoming antiquated with LTE and all the major carriers are working on the next version after that. Sprint is keeping a hybrid of WiMax and LTE going forward but overall it is a tech that died before it even matured. NFC may be the same. What if there are massive leaps in quantum teleportation in the next several years? Does NFC become the WiMax of the payment world?

Maturation Of Direct Carrier Billing

The "I do not see myself buying a fridge with this" line comes mostly from the direct carrier folks. Direct carrier billing is the perfect area for micro-payments and payments that stem from ease of use. Think of parking. If you could pay for your parking on the street with your phone, would that convenience be worth an extra couple of cents on the dollar to you?

The direct to carrier ecosystem has evolved to the point where it actually makes sense for offline and online use. Zong (acquired by eBay for PayPal integration), PaymentOne and Boku are the leaders in this space. PaymentOne has processed $5 billion in mobile payments and lets users pay with their phone numbers, validating transactions via text. Zong allows that capability as well.

Payment One's "One Care" features, announced last week at CTIA, makes direct to carrier billing safe and secure. Transparency is important in mobile commerce because consumers do not really trust their phones to handle their money quite yet.

The most important aspect of direct to carrier billing now is that the revenue mechanism has been flipped. It used to be that merchants only got some 40% or less of payments while the carriers and partners took the rest. Even with high margin transactions, that is unacceptable. Today, direct to carrier billing provides the merchants with more than 80% of the revenue, sometimes nearly 95%.

The Dongle World: Smartphones As Credit Card Readers

Square, VeriSign and Intuit are pushing hard into the dongle department. Jumio is doing the same thing, just without the dongle. There is not much to be said about the dongle world that we have not already touched on at ReadWriteWeb outside of the notion that it is bringing easy credit card readers to the mobile masses.

The dongle competitors are not worried about what is happening in the ecosytem because it does not really touch their core business. For instance, PayPal does not see NFC or dongles infringing on its business in any way, shape or form. As Laura Chambers, PayPal's head of mobile, said in a recent interview, "we are not worried about much in the ways of competition. There is a lot of white space in the industry for horizontal movement."

What Is PayPal Really Doing?

In the interview with Chambers, the first question I asked was, "Why does it seem like PayPal has become a 'me too' operator in mobile payments?" It is a fair question, even if Chambers balked to acknowledge that PayPal has been in 'me too' mode for the last year or so. PayPal has ignored the dongle movement and NFC is not on its radar as a technology it feels it needs to integrate.

"What is the difference between a tap versus a swipe?" Chambers asked. "We are working with what works in the current infrastructure ... We have sat down with consumers and merchants to work with them on what they want."

PayPal is growing sideways because there is not a ton of room right now to grow vertically.

PayPal will get into NFC solutions when the time is appropriate. Its strategy now is to create as much flexibility for consumers as possible through its mobile wallet program. PayPal's stance is data driven - the company can track when and what consumers buy from mobile phones and tablets. Hence, PayPal is focusing on the shopping end of the spectrum, as opposed to a pure payments play.

"60% of people buy more and spend more on mobile," Chambers said. "But, we see that people are not really buying different things on mobile ... the No. 1 driver of growth in mobile payments is boredom."

That fits in well with what PayPal sees as "couch commerce." They released a study recently saying that mobile shopping is going to boom this holiday season. As such, PayPal is ready to deploy an end-to-end solution for merchants and consumers to reward loyalty and provide deals and offers along with digital receipts.

PayPal believes that it has a lot of room to grow in mobile through these types of horizontal movements. We are also seeing this on a non-mobile front with eBay partnering with Facebook and the Open Graph API and the new X.Commerce initiative that consolidates the PayPal, Zong, Magento, RedLaser and Milo technologies. The company is calling it an "open commerce ecosystem."

Future Of Mobile Payments

This article is the first in a series of the trends in mobile payments that ReadWriteWeb will be working on in the next several months. There are a lot of questions and the answers are just beginning to emerge. Who are the winners in the space? Are retail shops in danger of "becoming expensive fronts for online shopping," as Chambers said in the interview? Does NFC really have potential to disrupt offline payments or is it just cool technology? These questions and more are what we will be tackling in the months to come.

Discuss

Stream TV launching glasses free Ultra-D 3DTV tech at CES, again

Stream TV launching glasses free Ultra-D 3DTV tech at CES, again:

We don't recall seeing Stream TV's Elocity 3T autostereoscopic 3D TV on shelves after our CES demo last year, but to be fair, we don't get out much. Not to worry however, as the company will be back at CES 2012, this time touting Ultra-D "next generation 3D without glasses display technology" that it claims will surpass all 3D experiences to date. Lofty claims, but it's also banking on its tech for realtime 2D-to-3D conversion of any video content, with plans for the brand to reach TVs, converter boxes, tablets, PCs and more. Check out the press release after the break to drink in more hype, we'll be in line to see what's real at its press conference January 9th.

Continue reading Stream TV launching glasses free Ultra-D 3DTV tech at CES, again

Stream TV launching glasses free Ultra-D 3DTV tech at CES, again originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 23 Dec 2011 05:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dell delivers official Gingerbread ROM to the discontinued Streak 5

Dell delivers official Gingerbread ROM to the discontinued Streak 5:

Although we wouldn't go as far as saying the Streak 5 is coming out of its grave, we can tell you that Dell is making an effort to help it regain consciousness -- which is great news for those of you who own the device. Don't mind that ICS is here, or that it's been 12 months since we first met Android 2.3, what's important is that the smartphone / tablet is ready to get its first (official) taste of some Gingerbread goodness. Needless to say, we know you're thrilled to make the OS transition, but before you do so, hit up the source link for all the nitty-gritty from the XDA folks to help guide you in your quest.

Dell delivers official Gingerbread ROM to the discontinued Streak 5 originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 21 Dec 2011 23:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung launches two dual-sim Galaxy Y phones for carrier cheaters

Samsung launches two dual-sim Galaxy Y phones for carrier cheaters:

Samsung is rolling out a pair of dual-SIM blowers for everyone who wants to keep their working and private lives separate, or take advantage of constantly changing carrier deals. The Galaxy Y Duos packs a 3.14-inch QVGA (243 x 320) touchscreen, HSDPA modem, three megapixel camera, microSD storage that's expandable up to 32GB and an 832MHz processor that runs TouchWiz flavored Gingerbread. The Galaxy Y Pro Duos' only difference is its smaller 2.6-inch LQVGA TFT screen, to make space for the physical keyboard below. Both models will be available from January in Europe, Russia, Latin America, Asia, Africa and China and while there's no word on pricing, the specs suggest it won't be high. Head on past the break for the deep dish (or as some squares like to call it, "press release").

Continue reading Samsung launches two dual-sim Galaxy Y phones for carrier cheaters

Samsung launches two dual-sim Galaxy Y phones for carrier cheaters originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 22 Dec 2011 06:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nokia ready to start shipping Lumias to Launchpad developers

Nokia ready to start shipping Lumias to Launchpad developers:

Things were a lot less clear back in early 2011 when Nokia announced it would abandon its burning platform for Windows Phone 7. Amidst that uncertainty, Espoo pledged to give select developers an E7 as well as a mystery device running Redmond's bits in the near future. The company's now making good on the latter part of that promise, informing those registered under its Launchpad program that their gratis hardware is ready to ship. Kindly forwarded by a tipster is email proof (seen after the break), which in non-redacted form would provide instructions for procuring a complimentary Lumia 800. Previous whispers suggested the Lumia 710 will also be part of the scheme, so your mileage may vary. Still, a free handset is better than none -- or at the very least a Nokla, right?



[Thanks, Jota]

Continue reading Nokia ready to start shipping Lumias to Launchpad developers

Nokia ready to start shipping Lumias to Launchpad developers originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 22 Dec 2011 08:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A DIY Space Capsule Requires DIY Parachutes

A DIY Space Capsule Requires DIY Parachutes:

When you finally press the launch-button and hope to see your rocket fly you know that every single piece of hardware must perform as intended or you might end up with a complete mission failure. Everything added to the space rocket has a purpose. If not, I should not be there.

Naturally, some systems are more tolerant to failure (or near failure) but others must perform perfectly if you want to experience the next step of the flight as well. The launch vehicle has to perform as intended otherwise you do not reach the destination you hoped for. The separation system between space capsule and launch vehicle as well. I can name hundred of such systems, but I won’t or you will fall a sleep.

Most systems being developed for this mission can be tested completely (or close to) on ground. The engines can be tested on ground thoroughly bolted to the ground as well as basic radio communication and deployment of up-righting bag just to mention a few.

However, systems which must perform in special aerodynamic environments are not easily tested. We do not own a wind tunnel or capable of creating the changes in atmosphere and wind speed which is required. These systems will normally be tested for the first time during actual flight adding much intense excitement to our expectations of the outcome.

Parachutes are such a system and subject for this blog post.

As described earlier in several posts we hit a wall when trying to buy our way out of the main parachutes development. So, we are doing them ourselves with Søren Gregersen in charge.

Parachutes are the critical last part of a mission which must deliver correct aero-braking insuring survival of both the space capsule and crew during splash down. Parachutes do no care about the mass they hold when being deployed but they do care (very much) about the wind speed and atmospheric density.

Aero-braking using parachutes are typically divided into more than one session. It is quite impossible to make use directly of large parachutes, even during a suborbital descent, because your velocity is likely to be much too high for the parachutes and they will burst. So, before deploying your main parachutes you need to perform an initial aero-braking using a drogue which is a smaller and much more powerful parachute capable of enduring high speeds.

The step could be like this.

- Space capsule descent from apogee

- Deployment of drogue for initial aero-braking

- Deployment of main parachutes and drogue jettison.

- Splash down.

The image below shows our current deployment configuration (right) compared to the configuration used during the Apollo Program. NASA was forced to use an even more complex division of the parachute sequence to comply with the extreme descent rate when falling from the Moon or LEO.

Apollo parachute sequence (left) Image: NASA. Tycho Deep Space parachute sequence (right) Image: Kristian von Bengtson

Do determine which altitude and speed the different parachutes should be deployed I make a general use of the terminal-velocity formula which can give you a current velocity of an object based on the mass of the falling object (m), acceleration due to gravity (g), drag coefficient (Cd), density of the air based on altitude (ρ) and projected area of the object (A)

In stead of manually picking out the density of the air based on altitude I have replaced density (ρ) with this little formula ρ = 1.21 * EXP (-altitude/8000), I found somewhere on the Internet which seems to work just fine.

But remember that the terminal velocity formula only gives you a hint about the speed of your falling object but it’s not the whole truth since you need to take into account the time it will actually take to perform the aero-braking either by atmospheric drag or parachutes.

Also, I go by some basic rules that our drogue can only handle deployment and operation speeds at maximum 500 km/h (310 mph) and our main parachutes 150 km/h (app 95 mph) in a high dense atmosphere meaning that you can increase these numbers if you operate them in higher altitude and thinner air density. But then you may have troubles with the actual deployment. These assumptions are made from much research but again it is only hints and you will only find out this is correct after a real live, full-scale test.

But one thing is theory and formulas.

Another thing is creating the parachutes and practical experience.

I decided quickly to buy the high power drogue in the US which is a product normally used for drag-racers. They can perform within the required speeds and have enough drag-area for the aero-braking needed before deploying the main parachutes. You can see the product here.

The main parachutes were quickly chosen by Søren to be a cross-parachute by design. It is basically a simple cross made from either 5 squares or 1 long center lane and 2 side squares. The simple design give us maximum use of the fabric you have to purchase compares to mores complex round shaped parachutes where you have unique formed lanes of fabric.

The cross parachute is generally used for both cargo drop but also for manned missions in a slightly different configuration where each open corner of the 4 arm are sowed together. This is done to create a more spherical dome during descent providing a more effective drag area.

The image below show one of the three main cross parachutes made for spacecraft Tycho Brahe which was launched in June made from “standard” nylon parachute fabric. These parachutes were deployed at 4 times the speed of what they can handle which led to failed deployment. But we still believe the design in viable and we observed destruction in the fabric and not in the sowing seams.

Initial cross parachute design by Copenhagen Suborbitals. Image: Bo Tornvig

The next generation of the cross parachutes will have the 4 “arms” sowed together and a better aspect ratio of the arms and the center square based on research found on the Internet providing increased total drag area.

Cross parachutes in the making. 3 in total. Image: Kristian von Bengtson

The total size of the new three main parachutes for space capsule Tycho Deep Space was determined by a splash down descent rate of 10 m/s. Based on the mass of the space capsule (500 kg) a total drag area of 120 sqm seems to be needed. You are welcome to do some of the math yourself and let me know if you find any major miscalculations. Here is the xls-calculation sheet for the parachutes for download.

The first batch of fabric has been ordered and Søren will begin production on the other side of Xmas in his living room using his oldschool industrial sowing machine. Good luck Søren!

I will leave further details on how, where and when we plan to test these coming parachutes and how to deploy them technically, in futures blog posts.

Have a great day…

Ad Astra

Kristian von Bengtson

Kindle Fire generating “hundreds of millions” of monthly ad impressions

Kindle Fire generating “hundreds of millions” of monthly ad impressions:

Amazon finally provided a glimpse of overall Kindle sales but it’s still not quite clear how much momentum Kindle Fire, Amazon’s break-out tablet, really has. Well, mobile ad network Millennial Media is providing another solid bit of data, saying that Fire ad impressions on its network have been growing by 19 percent daily in the first few weeks after its mid-November launch.

According to Millennial Media’s November numbers, the Kindle Fire’s impression growth is now on a faster initial pace than than that of the Apple iPad, though it has the advantage of selling into a more mature tablet market and comes with a much more affordable $199 price tag. The fast start of the Kindle Fire has helped push Millennial’s “connected devices” category up to 16 percent of all impressions, up from 14 percent in October.

“We’re not just seeing millions of impressions, we’re seeing a monthly run rate of hundreds of millions of impressions,” for the Kinde Fire, said Millennial Media.

Amazon’s tablet helped Android secure 50 percent of all ad impressions but that’s a noticeable slide from the 56 percent it held in October. One key difference appears to be the launch of the iPhone 4S, which boosted Apple’s iOS’ share from 28 percent in October to 30 percent in November. RIM also had a big jump in November, with its share of impressions growing from 13 percent in October to 17 percent in November. That seems like a big leap for RIM, which does have new BlackBerry 7 devices selling but hasn’t appeared to be outpacing Android or iOS in sales.

Apple increased its lead as the top device manufacturer on Millennial’s network with 25.7 percent of impressions, up from 23.5 percent in October. Samsung reclaimed the second spot with 17.5 percent of impressions, while HTC dropped to fourth behind RIM. The iPhone also lengthened its lead on the competition in November with a 13.5 percent share, up 8 percent from 12.5 percent in October.

The numbers highlight the growing oomph behind the Kindle Fire, which despite some so-so reviews, has been selling extremely well. Amazon said last week it’s selling more than 1 million Kindle devices - e-readers and tablets – a week and the Fire has been the best selling device and most gifted product on Amazon.com since it was introduced.

It’s logical that the Fire is counted by Millennial as an Android device, because it’s built atop Android. But as we’ve noted, the Fire is becoming its own platform as well, with its own set of development demands for developers. For now, Android’s share is benefitting from the Fire, which now leads the pack of tablets based on Android. But over time, it could be its own branch of Android that leads people away from Google’s base platform.

Millennial’s numbers also show that Apple is getting a pop from the iPhone 4S and is able to claw back some impressions from Android. These two OSes are still well ahead of the competition.

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
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• Connected world: the consumer technology revolution
• Mobile Q2: Smartphone growth surges; iPad’s rule continues
• Three hurdles for Microsoft’s mobile future

LightPad connects your smartphone to an 11-inch screen, expands up to a 60-inch projection

LightPad connects your smartphone to an 11-inch screen, expands up to a 60-inch projection:

Despite Samsung's best efforts, perhaps you haven't found the perfect balance of pocketable size and a capacious? Sure, it sounds pretty counterintuitive, but QP Optoelectronics may have exactly what you're looking for with the LightPad, a folio-styled peripheral that combines a keyboard with an 11-inch rear projection screen. The built-in pico projector lights up the screen with a resolution of 854 x 480 in the first generation model, with a future model promising the same display size at a high-definition 1280 x 720 resolution. The built-in projector also flips around to create a 60-inch display, and will play nice with any smartphone that has an available MHL or HDMI port. While that three-part footprint doesn't make it a particularly viable option for airplane viewing, office types may appreciate the two different form factors. We'll be staking a claim to a hands-on when it makes its debut next month at CES 2012. Until then, satisfy yourself with a brief video demo after the break.

Continue reading LightPad connects your smartphone to an 11-inch screen, expands up to a 60-inch projection

LightPad connects your smartphone to an 11-inch screen, expands up to a 60-inch projection originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 19 Dec 2011 10:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung Stratosphere review

Samsung Stratosphere review:

Once upon a time, in the not-so-distant past, Verizon was still in phase one of its LTE lineup, which consisted of nothing but 4.3-inch slate phones with questionable battery life and very little to stand out from the rest of the competition. Now that we're seeing the second generation of devices coming into the 4G fold, Big Red appears to be pushing choice -- not just in terms of size and feel, but price as well. The Pantech Breakout was the first to, well, break out of the mold, offering a smaller form factor for a much more reasonable cost. It was nothing to write home about, but the fact that it existed gave us hope that we'd see a slew of phones in the same price range, finally making high-speed connectivity a more affordable option.



Shortly afterward, the Samsung Stratosphere sneaked up and snatched the spotlight away from Pantech, offering the very first QWERTY keyboard on an LTE-capable device for a cost similar to that of the Breakout. But when we first saw the phone, something felt eerily familiar: it looked almost exactly like the Epic 4G, a Galaxy S-era device that was released on Sprint's WiMAX lineup nearly a year and a half ago. Looks are one thing, but what about the internals? Does the brand new Stratosphere perform like an old phone, or does it give a completely fresh perspective on a 2010 classic? Read on for the full scoop.

Continue reading Samsung Stratosphere review

Samsung Stratosphere review originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 17 Dec 2011 09:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Archos G9 tablets to receive Ice Cream Sandwich by 'first trimester' of 2012

Archos G9 tablets to receive Ice Cream Sandwich by 'first trimester' of 2012:

Archos' duo of G9 tablets have been on the market for a few months now, but the French manufacturer has already made plans for the slates' next major update, announcing today that the devices will receive an update to Android 4.0 by the "first trimester" of 2012. Archos didn't offer anything more specific than that, but it's certainly an encouraging sign for those looking to take a bite of Ice Cream Sandwich on a budget. Read the full press release at the source link below, but be warned that it's in French.



[Thanks, Wewewi]

Archos G9 tablets to receive Ice Cream Sandwich by 'first trimester' of 2012 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 12 Dec 2011 07:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Refresh Roundup: week of December 5, 2011

Refresh Roundup: week of December 5, 2011:

Your smartphone and / or tablet is just begging to get updated. From time to time, these mobile devices are blessed with maintenance refreshes, bug fixes, custom ROMs and anything in between, and so many of them are floating around that it's easy for a sizable chunk to get lost in the mix. To make sure they don't escape without notice, we've gathered every possible update, hack, and other miscellaneous tomfoolery from the last week and crammed them into one convenient roundup. If you find something available for your device, please give us a shout at tips at engadget dawt com and let us know. Enjoy!

Continue reading Refresh Roundup: week of December 5, 2011

Refresh Roundup: week of December 5, 2011 originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 11 Dec 2011 08:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Aldebaran Robotics announces Nao Next Gen humanoid robot (video)

Aldebaran Robotics announces Nao Next Gen humanoid robot (video):

Aldebaran Robotics' Nao robot has already received a few upgrades from both the company itself and other developers, but it now has a proper successor. Aldebaran took the wraps off its new and improved Nao Next Gen robot today, touting features like a 1.6GHz Atom processor and dual HD cameras that promise to allow for better face and object recognition even in poor lighting conditions. What's more, while robot's outward appearance hasn't changed much, it has also received a number of software upgrades, including Nuance voice recognition, an improved walking algorithm, and a number of other measures to cut down on unwanted collisions. As before, the robot is aimed squarely at researchers and developers, but the Aldebaran's chairman notes that the company is continuing to pursue its goal of providing a Nao intended for individuals -- a goal he notes is being aided by the contributions from its developer program. Check out the gallery below and the video after the break for a closer look.

Gallery: Nao Next Gen

Continue reading Aldebaran Robotics announces Nao Next Gen humanoid robot (video)

Aldebaran Robotics announces Nao Next Gen humanoid robot (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 10 Dec 2011 00:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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