Kyocera Wireless, INSIDE Contactless partner on NFC

Kyocera Wireless Corp. and INSIDE Contactless will work together as select Kyocera cellphones integrate INSIDE Contactless' NFC solution for mobile payments.

As part of the collaboration, Kyocera Wireless will build NFC-enabled prototype mobile phones enhanced with INSIDE's microread, allowing the technology to be used in various banking pilot projects and initial adoption globally.

Remarked Cheri de Lacy, VP of strategic planning at Kyocera Wireless, "Future NFC-enabled phones from Kyocera will include an in-depth range of unique advanced functionalities at the forefront of NFC technology."

According to market research firm ABI Research, 2007 will be critical for NFC technology as key standards and operator trials complete the foundations for the first real deployments. The company predicts that by 2012, some 292 million handsets, just over 20 percent of the global mobile handset market, will ship with built-in NFC capabilities.