Last updated: 20 March 2014
Today marks the first day of the Gemalto Contactless Challenge. Ewan MacLeod and Jon Choo, two of the most respected mobile technology bloggers in the industry today, are already making their way around London this week to complete a series of challenges.
What will we learn about NFC infrastructure in the 2012 Olympic city? This time last year, a staggering number of people weren’t even sure what NFC payments were. A range of NFC-enabled handsets are beginning to hit the mainstream, led by the hugely successful Samsung Galaxy S III, which offers consumers a more convenient and more secure way of paying for low-cost goods and services.
Has much changed in the last twelve months? To find out, Jon and Ewan will be completing a number of challenges to see how widely NFC payments are catered for in one of the world’s most technology-savvy cities. To keep track of how they’re getting on, we’ll be updating our scoreboard on a daily basis:
The scores so far...
Total Scores:
Ewan MacLeod scores 153 points
Jon Choo scores 227 points
We’ll also be putting together a Google map of the various places that Jon and Ewan encounter on their travels around London, helping us build a picture of NFC availability in London today.
To find out how they’re getting on, follow #GemaltoNFC or read their blog posts here and here. So far we have established that Krispy Kreme Doughnuts aren’t available with contactless but that shoelaces and key-cutting are NFC-enabled!
So, the bloggers are ready and the gloves are off. Just remember Jon and Ewan, it’s a non-contact sport!
