Future WebOS Devices May Support NFC

According to a report from Bloomberg, future webOS-based phones and tablets from HP may include support for NFC, or near field communication. This short-range wireless technology enables the exchange of data between short distances, and serves as the backbone for upcoming mobile payment and mobile wallet systems, including the newly launched "Google Wallet," Visa's digital wallet and others.

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Bloomberg confirmed these details with two people "familiar with the company's plans," the report states. They also said the new NFC-enabled devices may be available by year-end, which means the support will not be included in forthcoming devices, like the Pre 3 or HP TouchPad tablet computer.

Whether or not HP would build its own "mobile wallet" system to rival Google's is unknown.

Mobile Payments Heating Up

NFC will soon be a part of the growing mobile payments market. This market, which includes things like SMS-based payments, NFC, mobile money apps and more, will reach $215 billion in transactions by 2015,�a report from Berg Insight states.

How big a role will NFC play? Chipmaker Broadcom estimates that between 10% and 15% of phones will include NFC next year, up from just the 1% that are NFC-ready now.

For more information on NFC, including details on how it works to NFC initiatives underway now, check out our series "NFC in 2011" on ReadWriteMobile. An article list is available here.

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