Softbank Announces NFC Stickers for iPhone 4 in Japan

[Maura]

Engadget reports today that Japanese mobile phone carrier Softbank has decided to launch special stickers for users to fix to the back of their iPhone 4s so that the phones can then be used as NFC (Near Field Communication) devices. According to Engadget, NFC contactless communication is very popular in Japan, and in particular the FeliCa payment system, and many Japanese iPhone 4 owners were complaining about the lack of an NFC facility on the phone. Softbank has been a little bit creative and clever in addressing these complaints with the sticker solution. It turns out that the stickers do not actually communicate with the iPhone themselves, enabling NFC payments via the iPhone, because Apple doesn’t actually allow that yet. In fact, it turns out that the stickers are simply fancy NFC cards attached to the back of the iPhone - exactly the same ones as might be swiped on their own - and they don’t in fact need the presence of an iPhone at all to work! Still, a handy place to store your NFC card all the same, until the real thing comes along on the iPhone.

The payment card stickers will be released in Japan in February and will retail for ¥2,980 ($36).

Source: Source: iPhone 4 gets stuck with NFC 'sticker' from Japan's Softbank -- Engadget