[03/17/09]
mobilkom austria , the Austrian-based mobile phone operator, is launching a new NFC mobile phone, the Nokia 6212 classic, complete with Topaz NFC tags from Innovision Research & Technology in the box. mobilkom austria is the first mobile operator to commercially distribute a phone with a set of NFC service tags in 2009.
The new Nokia 6212 classic 3G phone includes all the usual mobile phone features - stereo radio, camera, music player and bright QVGA screen - together with a key additional feature: Near Field Communication (NFC).
mobilkom austria will distribute the Nokia 6212 classic together with the four Topaz NFC tags in the box enabling quick, safe and convenient access to mobile services with a single touch.
This is made possible by the four WAP links pre-programmed into each of the four Topaz tags. The consumer simply touches the appropriate tag with their NFC phone and follows the link to the desired Vodafone live! WAP page. The use of NFC tag technology allows the consumer to more easily access ringtones, pictures and animations. Other services include traffic information and fuel price updates provided by the Austrian automobile club (?AMTC) and sports news provided by Austria 's sport channel Laola1.
The fourth tag features the link to a WAP page for purchasing ?BB Handy-Tickets. This ?BB tag is currently in use in a trial launched in January 2009 by mobilkom austria , ?BB and Nokia. Participants in the trial simply place their mobile ticket order by touching the ?BB Handy-Ticket Topaz NFC tag with their NFC phone to receive an electronic ticket, which will be validated via NFC by the train conductor. The Handy Ticket trial is currently running on two routes around Vienna .
Near Field Communication improves the user experience of mobile services and makes service initiation more convenient, which is critical for a broad adoption of mobile services. A recent survey compiled by mobile firm Mformation found that 85% of users reported they were frustrated by the difficulty of getting a new phone up and working. NFC tags such as Topaz from Innovision R&T can be programmed to enable the consumer to access services such as up-to-the-minute sports results, news or traffic reports simply by touching the phone to a tag and following a link. Topaz can also be used to help pair the handset with other devices such as Bluetooth headsets at a touch.
The new package of Nokia 6212 classic, complete with Topaz NFC tags in the box is due to be released to the Austrian consumer market in March 2009.
About Innovision Research & Technology plc
Innovision Research & Technology plc, is leading the next generation of NFC/RFID solutions. As the leading fabless developer of Short-Range Data Communication semiconductor and system solutions, with particular focus on NFC/RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) and ultra low-cost Integrated Circuit (IC) and RF electronic design, IRT is pushing cost performance to enable clients to get maximum utility for minimum cost.
The company develops innovative semiconductor technologies, ICs, RF systems (HF/UHF) and complete end product applications for mass volume commercialisation and then licenses customers for its incorporation into their own products.
At the heart of the emerging Near Field Communication (NFC) market, Innovision R&T designs and develops NFC/RFID IC solutions for the global mobile handset and consumer device sectors.
Products include Topaz, mandated by the NFC Forum as the NFC number one tag type format, Jewel for mass transit ticketing applications, and io, the world's smallest standards compatible Near-Field RFID reader.
Headquartered in the UK , Innovision R&T was listed in 2001 on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) of the London Stock Exchange (ticker symbol: INN ).
About Topaz
Topaz is the 13.56MHz ISO/IEC 14443A NFC Forum standard mandated NFC/RFID Type 1 Tag Format, with 96 Bytes read/write memory. Available in a variety of form factors from cards to labels and more, Topaz is able to support a variety of NFC applications. In addition to mobilkom austria 's use of the tags, recent applications include remote worker monitoring, a variety of smart poster applications, and wireless Bluetooth device pairing, linking an NFC mobile phone handset to a digital picture frame to allow the user to download images from the phone to the frame at a touch.
mobilkom austria YE/08
With 4.5 million customers and a market share of 42,5%, mobilkom austria is Austria 's leading mobile operator. The company, headquartered in Vienna , has generated revenues of EUR 1,668.0 million in the 2009 business year. mobilkom austria's innovation leadership is marked by the worldwide first GPRS Launch in August 2000, one of Europe`s first commercial UMTS networks launched in Austria in April 2003 and worldwide first HSDPA in the UMTS network in January 2006 and HSUPA in February 2007. With the mobilkom austria group, the success of mobilkom austria extends beyond Austria 's borders. The mobilkom austria group includes mobilkom austria, velcom in Belarus, Mobiltel in Bulgaria, Vipnet in Croatia, Si.mobil in Slovenia, mobilkom Liechtenstein, Vip mobile in Serbia and Vip operator in Macedonia.
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