According to ABI Research, near field communication (NFC) -enabled device shipments is expected to reach 320 million units in 2013.
In 2012, the global shipment of NFC-enabled handsets stood at 125 million. At present a majority of smartphone makers are increasingly adopting this wireless communications and payment technology in their products as a de facto standard. The growth in NFC-enabled devices will come despite the on-going delays affecting the launch of NFC payment services.
ABI Research points out that the growing inclusion of embedded solutions by original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) will account for the majority of secure elements in 2013 as mobile operators will add about 100 million single wire protocol SIM cards.
At present multiple chip vendors are offering a range of product alternatives to OEMs in various form factors with security feature being a priority. As a result, service partners ? who had earlier been less enthusiastic regarding the future of NFC are today increasingly developing new services and NFC applications for the market.
