Tyfone’s NFC-on-microSD technology to go into volume production
The US NFC specialist has signed a manufacturing and distribution deal with Taiwan's AboMem technology that will see the company's SideTap NFC-enabled microSD device become widely available for the first time.

SIDETAP: Set for mass availability
Tyfone has announced a deal with Taiwan-based AboMem Technology that will see the US NFC specialist's SideTap microSD-based NFC products being manufactured, distributed and serviced by AboMem.
The agreement is designed to combine AboMem's established manufacturing and distribution infrastructure with Tyfone's design and manufacturing expertise to bring SideTap fully to market for the first time.
Back in January 2009, Tyfone was the first company to announce an NFC-enabled MicroSD device, but its technology has not been put into volume production until now. Companies wishing to deploy SideTap microSD secure element solutions will be able to purchase devices directly from AboMem, while working with Tyfone on TSM software integration for identity provisioning and implementation of mobility services.
The deal also includes a distribution agreement that will see SideTap microSD cards — which include the necessary NFC circuitry and antenna, a secure element, and memory — being made available to consumers throughout China via AboMem's existing distribution network.
"AboMem has seen Tyfone evolve SideTap from the prototype phase into a market-ready solution, and is excited to take our relationship to the next level and look forward to achieving success in China and the rest of the world," comments AboMem chairman Aaron Yang.
"Tyfone's partnership with AboMem in China enables Tyfone to scale its business with a recognised leader in manufacturing memory products, and unleash its established distribution supply chain," adds Prabhakar Tadepalli, Tyfone's president of Asia Pacific and chief operating officer. "The support AboMem has provided Tyfone over the past several years for our vision for mobile commerce has been invaluable, and we look forward to our partnership and the opportunity to serve the world's largest consumer market."
Broadcom Unveils First NFC Chips, Smallest On the Market?
Broadcom, one of the biggest Wi-Fi chipmakers in the world, on Monday unveiled its first line of near-field communications (NFC) chips for smartphones.
The announcement comes on the heels of Google Wallet, a groundbreaking, if small-scale, step intended to popularize the use of phones to pay for items. NFC radios can transmit information between devices when held just a few inches apart; the technology has been used for mobile payments in Japan since 2004, but the rest of the world has been remarkably slower at aligning all the necessary players.
But more are betting on the mobile payments industry, which is expected to double to $670 billion by 2015 from $240 billion this year, according to Juniper Research.
Broadcom claims its first NFC chipset, BCM2079x, is 90 percent more energy-efficient and 40 percent smaller than any other NFC solution on the market, and was developed using 40 nm chip processing technology.
Interestingly, Broadcom has also said its chips can communicate with devices using Bluetooth and Wi-Fi radios, which are competing wireless communications technologies.
"Broadcom is committed to making NFC as ubiquitous as Bluetooth and Wi-Fi are today," Craig Ochikubo, vice president and general manager of wireless personal area networks at Broadcom, said in a statement. "These solutions provide the features and performance that enable disruptive innovation that will reshape the mobile consumer experience. Our leadership and proficiency in wireless connectivity influenced the architecture of these new chips to meet the performance required by OEMs, allowing them to more easily add NFC to their designs."
Although several phones available in the U.S. today come with NFC chips, like the Samsung Nexus S, Samsung Galaxy S II, and BlackBerry Bold 9930/9900, applications are few and far between.
Last November, three of the nation's largest cell phone operators, Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile, made perhaps the biggest financial investments in mobile payments through Isis, a platform that will finally debut next year after experiencing a few blips this year.
For more, check out PCMag's hands-on with Google Wallet in the wild in San Francisco, and the slideshow of other mobile-payment technologies below.