Google Acquires Softcard Technology, Inks Deal With Carriers to Pre-Install Google Wallet on Android Devices
Following rumors of an acquisition, Google today announced that it has purchased some technology and intellectual property from NFC-based mobile payment service Softcard, formerly known as Isis Mobile Wallet. The purchase will allow Google to improve upon its existing mobile wallet technology to better compete with Apple Pay.
Owned jointly by AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile, Softcard was established in 2010 in an effort to allow the three carriers to enter the mobile payment market. As an NFC-based payment option that works primarily with Android-based phones, Softcard has been a major Google Wallet competitor, arguably stunting NFC mobile payment growth for both companies.
Google Wallet nearly floundered following its 2011 debut after Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile refused to support the app in favor of Softcard (then known as Isis). Google later found a way to circumvent the Google Wallet lockout, but its growth has suffered amid competition from Softcard and other payment technologies.
Today’s purchase consolidates the number of payment options for Android devices and it lets Google establish a deal with the three carriers to build Google Wallet into future Android phones for the first time.
So today, we’re excited to announce that we’re working with AT&T Mobility, T-Mobile USA and Verizon Wireless, as well as their mobile payments company Softcard, to help more Android users get the benefits of tap and pay. Under this relationship, the Google Wallet app, including the tap and pay functionality, will come pre-installed on Android phones (running KitKat or higher) sold by these carriers in the US later this year. We’re also acquiring some exciting technology and intellectual property from Softcard to make Google Wallet better.
The early success of Apple Pay has sparked a lot of interest in mobile payments in recent months. Along with Google’s acquisition of Softcard, Samsung has recently purchased LoopPay in an effort to develop its own payments solution.
It is not clear if Google’s purchase of Softcard technology means Softcard will be shutting its own payments service down entirely. According to Softcard, its existing customers can continue to use the Softcard service for the time being, and more information is forthcoming from the company.
Google bringing Inbox to a select number of Google Apps users in March
We’ve been a pretty big fan of Inbox by Gmail since its launch back in October, but the one big gripe we’ve all had is that Google Apps users don’t have access to the service. So when Sundar Pichai took to Twitter to announce that Inbox would come to Google Apps users “imminently”, we were very happy. However, we had no idea how long “imminently” would take. But in a blog post earlier today, Google announced that Inbox would roll out to select Google Apps users beginning in March.
Just like the initial Inbox rollout, Google is taking the Apps rollout slowly. It won’t be available to everyone right away, and your Google Apps administrator needs to sign up for your business. If you’re interested in getting your team on-board, have your Google Apps admin send an email to inboxforwork@google.com to request an invite. Unfortunately, the number of businesses accepted to test the service will be very limited so Google can work with each team closely. To find out more information on signing up for the service, head to Google’s Inbox support page.
Google says:
Inbox wasn’t created to reinvent email, Inbox was created to help you reinvent the way you get things done. This means we need to understand more about how things get done (or don’t) today. And with your feedback, who knows, we could reinvent the way people work.
Much of the time, work email is very time-sensitive and important to read right away. The last thing we want is to have important emails slip through the cracks, or for the service to be buggy and unusable. It might be a bummer that we can’t all use Inbox with Google Apps quite yet, but it’s great that they’re taking the necessary precautions to ensure the service works properly.
If you’d like more information on Inbox by Gmail, check out our hands-on video.
Verizon calls upon entry-level Samsung Galaxy Core Prime
Verizon on Monday confirmed the upcoming availability for the Samsung Galaxy Core Prime. A low-end smartphone by today’s standards, it’s an Android 4.4 KitKat experience with a 4.5-inch display. Additional specifications include a 1.2GHz quad-core processor, 8GB internal storage, and a 5-megapixel rear camera. Rounding things out we also find a 2-megapixel front-facing shooter, a 2,000mAh battery, and support for HD Voice (Verizon True Calling 1.0).
Verizon will sell the Samsung Galaxy Core through its website beginning on February 26; a retail roll out is expected on March 5. Pricing is $29.99 with a two-year service agreement or $8 per month on Verizon Edge.
The post Verizon calls upon entry-level Samsung Galaxy Core Prime appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Google announces Wallet deal with Softcard and wireless carriers
Back in 2010, T-Mobile, AT&T, and Verizon all teamed together to introduce Softcard (back then it was ISIS), a mobile payment competitor to Google Wallet, so that carriers had better control over consumers payments with their phones. Then in late 2014, Apple introduced Apple Pay, and Banks and stores have been eating it up like there’s no tomorrow. ‘
It seems Softcard has recognized Apple’s growing success with their mobile payment system, as today Google announced that Google Wallet and Softcard are teaming up! Google will acquire some of Softcard’s assets, and says they plan to implement a better, newer mobile payment system to improve the already great Google Wallet.
What exactly will come of this is yet to be seen, but one thing is for sure: expect Google Wallet to get better and more widely released on Android devices. Google said in their announcement that Google Wallet will come pre-installed on phones from the three carriers mentioned above that have KitKat or higher Android versions. Pretty soon, none of us will be carrying our wallets anymore.
The post Google announces Wallet deal with Softcard and wireless carriers appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Evernote updated in BlackBerry Beta Zone – You can now see notebooks shared with you
Evernote users, this one is for you. Evernote for BlackBerry 10 will now give you access to notebooks that have been shared with you. This has been something I have been wanting since the beginning and now it’s here. In beta form, at the very least. There is one caveat though, you cannot edit the content of those notebooks — yet.
Aukey’s official Quick Charger on sale for $15
If you’re looking for a spare quick-charger, go ahead and pull the trigger on this wall charger from Aukey, currently on sale at Amazon for just $15.
Microsoft wants ‘People Who Do’ to use Windows in latest TV ad
Microsoft continues to promote its overall Windows platform in a new extended TV commercial today called “People Who Do”. The format follows that of an earlier Windows TV ad, “Do Great Things”, that was released last week.
Google makes deal to bring Wallet to major wireless carriers, buys out portion of Softcard
Google has signed a deal that will lead to the distribution of their Google Wallet app pre-installed on devices sold by by Verizon, T-Mobile and AT&T starting later this year. As part of the deal, Google is also buying some technology from Softcard, a mobile payment solution that had been developed by those same carriers.
According to Softcard, the app will continue to work for users that want to make mobile payments – for now. However, this could change as Google starts to rollout their solution on carrier devices. Since Soundcard is selling some of their intellectual property related to the app to Google, it seem unlikely future development will continue. Reports indicate there are no Softcard employees joining Google as part of the agreement, which could be bad news on the horizon for Softcard employees.
Softcard has been a long, expensive project backed by these carriers to bring a mobile payment solution to market. Their efforts were hampered after the original name of the solution, ISIS, became associated with the terror group and forced the name change. The carriers behind Softcard had blocked efforts by Google to get Wallet adopted in the past and the battle for market control not only led to both solutions struggling for market acceptance, it may have resulted in Apple sneaking in with their Apple Pay solution.
The apparent truce between Google and the carriers comes as Samsung moves to acquire LoopPay in an effort to implement their own mobile payments project. Although LoopPay was essentially in a startup phase, the acquisition and backing of Samsung should help propel it to the top of the class along with Google’s Wallet and Apple’s Apple Pay solutions.
source: Re/code
Come comment on this article: Google makes deal to bring Wallet to major wireless carriers, buys out portion of Softcard
OnePlus One to get CM12S and OxygenOS ROM by March
The co-founder of OnePlus, Carl Pei has announced that the OnePlus One will receive the CyanogenMod 12S update sometime in March. He also mentioned that users willing to flash the Android 5.0 based OxygenOS ROM can do so at around the same time. Carl Pei gave out the following information while responding to a user query on Twitter.
CyanogenMod 12S updates will be available as an OTA to existing devices (with the exception of Indian units). Others will have to rely on OxygenOS which won’t be available as an OTA and will require users to manually flash the ROM.
Since Cyanogen is yet to issue a stable release of CM12S, it’s out of OnePlus’ hand to issue the update. As for the OxygenOS ROM, it is said that the team is hard at work to perfect the ROM before it is made available for public use. The alpha version of the ROM has been made available by OnePlus sometime ago.
Source: Twitter
Via: Android Authority
Come comment on this article: OnePlus One to get CM12S and OxygenOS ROM by March
Inbox by Gmail making its way to Google Apps for Work users
Some users really like the Inbox by Gmail app, while others hated it immensely. I was a bit in the middle and eventually just stopped using it all together. It had its uses, it was a nice change, it was something new. However, 95% of my email communications come from my AndroidSPIN email and not […]
The post Inbox by Gmail making its way to Google Apps for Work users appeared first on AndroidSPIN.
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