Intel Licenses NFC Tech for Its Chips for NFC on Ultrabooks

It looks like Intel is really trying to expand the feature set of its processors, having entered an agreement with Inside Secure for NFC features.

There are things that Intel can't do on its own, so it has to enter partnerships with various other companies.

Part of it is because of the patent system that handles ownership rights to intellectual property, while the other part of the matter is that Intel just can't have technologies for everything.

In this case, it wants to implement near field communications (NFC) technology into its chips.

Since it doesn't actually possess the expertise for this, it entered a licensing agreement with Inside Secure.

“NFC is gaining traction in many markets as one of the most convenient ways to use consumer electronic devices for payments and retail commerce transactions, for access to facilities and information, and a host of other applications,” said Aicha Evans, vice-president and general manager of Intel's Mobile Wireless Group.

“We look forward to working with INSIDE to develop and bring to market a range of exciting connectivity solutions for mainstream consumer products that incorporate NFC features.”

Through the deal, the Santa Clara, California-based company will get Microread, Securead and Open NFC products.

As such, it shouldn't be long before NFC capabilities become part of all sorts of PCs, Ultrabooks included.

“We are very excited to have this opportunity to work alongside Intel in the development of scalable NFC solutions for the industry,” said Charles Walton, chief operating officer for INSIDE Secure.

“Working with an industry leader like Intel will play a significant role in the mainstream rollout of NFC.”

It is, at this point, obvious that all this is also something that Intel plans to use for its next mobile chips and chipsets.

Since it has, so far, failed to compete with ARM on its own turf, it has to add as many smartphone-like capabilities to its products as possible.