Sony Ericsson Selects NXP for Packing NFC in Android Devices

Japanese-Swedish mobile phone maker Sony Ericsson is considering the inclusion of NFX capabilities inside its Android-based mobile phones, and has just announced the selection of NXP Semiconductors N.V. as the provider of the necessary near field communication (NFC) technology for the move.

The leading mobile phone maker plans on bringing NFC to its Xperia series of Android-powered mobile phones to enhance the experience these devices can provide to users.

With NFC inside, Sony Ericsson’s Android devices can enable mobile transactions, so that users would purchase or connect to a point of sale (POS) terminal through their NFC-enabled smartphones.

“Building on Sony Ericsson’s leadership in Android and mobile gaming, the integration of near field communication into our Android-based Xperia portfolio is another step in delivering the most entertaining smartphones,” said Jan Uddenfeldt, Chief Technology Officer at Sony Ericsson.

“NFC offers our consumers the ability to broaden their communication experience beyond the phone, and we are poised to drive the development of new, exciting and creative entertainment experiences.”

NXP already delivers complete embedded, secure NFC solutions, and also released its NFC software in open source on Android, enabling the availability of Google's Wallet application.

Sony Ericsson announced plans to use the NXP PN65 NFC solution (with NFC radio controller, embedded secure elements and NFC software) with their Android-based smartphones.

Through the embedded secure element, NFC can be used for mobile transactions. PN65 uses advanced cryptography for the delivery of an advanced level of security for transactions.

“This latest move from Sony Ericsson is another proof point of the strong momentum and potential of NFC,” said Rick Clemmer, president and CEO, NXP Semiconductors.

“Based on continued strong customer endorsements we have the opportunity to increase the sales of our NFC products 2-4 times as a percentage of total NXP revenue in the second half of 2011 from the approximately one percent it represents today.

“NFC offers a game-changing opportunity for mobile phone manufacturers to provide creative and innovative smartphones to their customers.”