Mobile Minute
NXP Semiconductors made headlines this week on reports that Apple has partnered with the Dutch company for NFC (near field communication). An NFC chip inside the new iPhone would mean the smartphone could be used for contactless payments, replacing a credit card in many situations.
NFC for smartphones is not new, and Apple has been a late adopter among the leading mobile device makers. But an alliance with NXP could eventually position Apple as a leader in NFC for phones and tablets.
NXP Semiconductor is working on an NFC chip that it says would be three times as fast as current solutions. The company foresees speeds of 20.34 Mbps, achieved through a multi-bit-per-symbol differential phase shift keying solution, which NXP is proposing to the ISO standards body.
The company believes that faster NFC will enable new applications, including wireless synchronization of smartphones and computers, wireless charging of smartphones, and digital IDs that could be scanned in seconds.
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