Since the arrival of HCE in Android 4.4 (KitKat) we have seen many articles and even more opinions around its suitability for enabling contactless payments versus the more traditional secure element (SE) based approach.

BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) marks a generational increase over previous versions of the Bluetooth specification and really shows that the working groups have taken on board the criticism and issues associated with the original Bluetooth work. Crucially, it shows a return towards the original intentions – a good solid foundation for great apps to use, that add value to people’s lives.

As 2013 came to an end, predictions for 2014 have been making headlines with many journalists declaring this year as the year of mobile. But 2014 is not the year of mobile. Mobile is already here and has been for a while. We think 2014 is about the next phase of evolution for mobile, in 2013 mobile was perceived as just another channel. 2014 will be about using personal mobile devices to connect our experiences across all the different channels. And to do this we have to focus on the enabling technologies that support frictionless interaction between physical world things and digital services.

Last week, Neil Garner our CEO and Founder addressed the controversy that’s surrounded Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) and NFC in a guest blog for Finextra. Since Apple released iBeacon, their version of BLE, some have assumed that BLE will replace NFC as the go to technology for increasing customer loyalty and engagement.

It has been rumoured for some time, but last week finally saw confirmation that Android 4.4 (KitKat) will in fact support host-based card emulation (HCE).

So why is this significant and why has this sent so many people into a potential tailspin? Many Android devices can already support NFC card emulation services, so this is just yet another variant surely? Well, not quite.

At Posterscope we have been testing and demonstrating NFC to our clients for five years, so it’s certainly been a long time coming.  In 2011 we ran the UK’s first pilot campaign in partnership with Proxama to promote the X-Men movie.

Over the last year there has been a dramatic rise in the number of clients rolling out NFC campaigns and our 2014 campaign planning demonstrates that growth will continue, helped by the expectation that one third of the smartphones sold globally this year will support NFC.

Since entering the digital media age, brands have been spoilt for choice when it comes to platforms and tools to communicate with their target audience.

Brand communication used to be built on the idea of interruption; brands who were able to create the biggest and loudest ‘noise’ when advertising were generally the ones winning.  However, today’s consumers are not as open to this disruptive way of communication.

It seems that with every iPhone release or announcement, critics are quick to shout that NFC is dead. But what does “NFC is dead” even mean? Do we all pin the lifeline of a technology to what Apple may or may not do? This would make sense if Apple held the majority of smartphone share – but they don’t. Let’s clarify. Today Apple holds 31.1 % of the UK market compared to Android who holds 55.2%. Even in markets such as the US where Apple has a larger market share, Android still holds 51.1 % of the market.

If you missed our webinar on Building Trust: M-commerce Transactions you can watch it now!

CEO & Founder Neil Garner and Robert Brown VP Market Development at Trustonic take viewers through the different security measures in place to secure the future of m-commerce transactions.