NTT DoCoMo Debuts Credit Card Phone 123
Scott S. writes "NTT DoCoMo Unveils its new phone allowing a simply wave to pay for items at the supermarket, rent movies, get airplane tickets and more. The i-mode FeliCa serves as a "mobile wallet" that detects weak electronic signals from a reader/writer and can be used when the phone is off. Credit card phones have been an idea in the past and leave it to the Japanese to make one."
One FeliCa to access them all (Score:4, Interesting)
The article mentioned "i-mode FeliCa will make your wallet more slim. It can be your cash, credit card, membership ID, and even your house key." Given that many people have mobile phones stolen/lost, or worse, broken in the most unexpected moment, is relying too heavily on one device too much a risk?
I think it's equally annoying to have your cash stolen, house broken into, and not being able to enter your house (and you can't call for help without a mobile phone or cash for payphone!)
--
Play iCLOD Virtual City Explorer [iclod.com] [iclod.com] and win Half-Life 2
Re:One FeliCa to access them all (Score:4, Interesting)
I'm counting the days til I can return to Tokyo and replace my two year old 505i (which by the way, still puts 95% of the current US phones to shame)
Re:One FeliCa to access them all (Score:2)
On the bright side, this phone is designed to download system software updates from Docomo, so perhaps I can
Re:One FeliCa to access them all (Score:2)
Does Japanese have no word for "granularity"?
(I suppose that, for the American market, they could make a model that also has a gun in it to help us ward off theft. Oh, and a duct-tape dispenser for when it gets broken.
Re:One FeliCa to access them all (Score:2)
Why attached to a phone? (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Why attached to a phone? (Score:5, Interesting)
with eventually you having to carry just one thing(preferably that has the data portions somewhere backed up automagically where they're easily replaceable securely for you if you lose the thing).
Re:Why attached to a phone? (Score:2)
Re:Why attached to a phone? (Score:2)
because it would have some kind of magic way to figure out if it were really you with the phone or not, and the data/keys/and other should be retrievable by some magical means into your new device.
now if you invent that magic, so that it'll work perfectly, you'll be a very rich man if you play your cards right.
Re:Why attached to a phone? (Score:1)
Re:Why attached to a phone? (Score:1)
Progression (Score:2, Informative)
Re:Progression (Score:1)
"Citizen, where is your phone?"
Re:Progression (Score:2)
Cypher something?
Re:Progression (Score:2, Informative)
Time to.. (Score:3, Funny)
Condoms etc. (Score:5, Funny)
Now I carry a spare CompactFlash and my driving and fishing licenses.
Unless the cellphone has a handy place to put these things I can't see it replacing a wallet any time soon.
Re:Condoms etc. (Score:1)
Re:Condoms etc. (Score:1)
Re:Condoms etc. (Score:2)
OT question: Does rubber petrify?
Walking through the supermarket line (Score:4, Funny)
I can't wait til I'm leaving a grocery store without buying anything, I walk through the checkout line to get out, and I end up buying someone else's groceries for them without knowing it.
*thinks* wait a minute...I might be the one getting free groceries.
Re:Walking through the supermarket line (Score:2)
more like... (Score:4, Funny)
Re:more like... (Score:1)
"a simply wave" (Score:3, Funny)
Wha...? Did slashdot just turn into engrish.com [engrish.com]?
Re:"a simply wave" (Score:1)
Those in the U.S. who learned English grammar and punctuation before rigorous standards were left by the wayside (before 1980) find it hard to accept that the vast majority of subsequent generations have such an apathetically cavalier attitude toward written communica
Re:"a simply wave" (Score:1)
Passive reading? (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Passive reading? (Score:2)
Theft without needing to break into your house? (Score:4, Interesting)
Does this mean that unauthorized charges can be made without even being able to turn off the capability?
If so, then drive-by theft suddenly becomes possible. Gives war-driving a whole new meaning.
security, self control, ... (Score:4, Funny)
UnapprovedThought:
Either way, you can wave goodbye to your money.
Re:security, self control, ... (Score:1)
Heck yeah. (Score:1)
The article wasn't too clear (Score:1)
An AC elsewhere in this discussion has mentioned that there is a yes/no button to approve the charges; it isn't just waving that is necessary (whew, what a relief). It seems the article was being a bit too optimistic about the convenience aspect. Maybe it was just marketing-spin.
But, I agree that if the phone is stolen all bets are off. Of course the thief will have no compunction about pressing the yes button all over town. So it looks like the phone needs to have a PIN entry feature as well.
Fraud? (Score:2, Interesting)
1. Steal unsuspecting person's phone
2. Make lots of purchases quickly
3. Ditch phone and abscond with goods
4. Achieve eternal contentment
Re:Fraud? (Score:1)
Maybe the posters are recalling all the fraud successfully perpetrated on the ATM/banking industry customers.
Re:Fraud? (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Fraud? (Score:1)
"a simple wave"?!? (Score:5, Insightful)
But seriously, shouldn't a monetary transaction require a signature and/or a passcode, not just a gesture? How close does this have to be to the reader in order to bill my account? It would appear that there would be tremendous potential for ringing up unintentional charges when using a remote reader for payment.
Re:"a simple wave"?!? (Score:4, Informative)
I'm sorry to break it to you, but if you think that traditional credit cards are much more secure, you're kidding yourself. Signatures are pretty useless, since 1. The merchant banks don't require us (businesses that accept credit cards) to check them against any other verified signature 2. A signature is easy to forge, especially when retail workers aren't handwriting experts 3. Merchant banks don't require us to do anything with the signed receipts once we have them. Our merchant bank requires, barring a real, physical card, to check the billing zip code, but even this information should be pretty easy to get. The only protection that credit cards have is the right to dispute charges. But since, these will also be credit cards, the same will apply. Therefore, these new gizmos will be about as secure as existing credit cards: they won't be.
Pretty Old news (Score:4, Informative)
I live in Japan and these phones have been out for atleast 5 months. That said, I use one and it's really handy. Riding the trains is very nice since I don't have to wait in line to buy tickets any more. Untill the tech. is adopted in more convenience stores outside of the train stations though, I'll still need my change purse.
As we all know, the japanese love to use cash anyway, so I feel like a tech like this stands a better chance at becomming really really popular in the US or Europe, where credit cards are more commonly accepted. Pretty frequent to have busniess associates of mine get into jams at nice resturants because they don't have enough cash.
jsking
Re:Pretty Old news (Score:1)
Re:Pretty Old news (Score:5, Informative)
If you want to become a FeLiCa-enabled vendor, you must lease your reader directly from DoCoMo. All charges are stamped with a vendor-ID and the reader serial#. In order to get both items of information, a hacker would have to steal the reader from a store, crack it open to get the serial#, and replace the reader without causing any damage.
If the reader is missing, the vendor is required by contract (strict!) to contact DoCoMo immediately and have that reader decomissioned. The vendor is then liable for the cost of replacing the missing reader, discouraging them from lax physical security in the first place. If the reader is returned to the store in damaged condition such that the tamper-proof seal is broken (which self-reports to DoCoMo), then the machine is decomissioned and all transactions using that serial# are investigated.
Essentially, you would have to be a DoCoMo employee to pull off something like this successfully.
Also, the charge always requires a button-press acceptance on the user's part to acknowledge the transaction. If someone were to just wave the reader at your phone, it wouldn't do anything unless you accept the charge (in 30 seconds or so before the transaction times out).
MOD PARENT UP (Score:1)
whoops. Not parent. Mod the anonymous replies up. (Score:1)
Re:Pretty Old news (Score:1, Informative)
If someone steals your phone, you are faced with the same situation as if someone were to steal your credit card. You'd be liable for some charges, not others. And it would be up to you to have your FeLiCa account blocked immediately.
In response to this issue, Fujitsu (the only maker of FeLiCa phones) is looking into a biometric reader instead of the 'accept transaction' button mentioned above.
Biometrics are not a perfect solution either (Score:1)
"You'd be liable for some charges, not others"
That's only if you can report the theft before the thief gains entry to your home... Since you have no phone, it's possible that this might take you longer to report it. You may not even be aware that your phone has been stolen for a while. Then, if you deactivate your phone account, how do you enter your own home when you get back?
"[they are] looking into a biometric reader instead"
They can look into it all they want but biometrics aren't a complete sol
Felica Overview from Sony (Score:1)
Re:Pretty Old news (Score:2)
More features (Score:2)
In the mean time, fuck off and let me enjoy my obsolete technology. At least it gets 18 days standby or 10 hours talk time with bluetooth.
Re:More features (Score:1)
Re:More features (Score:2)
Re:More features (Score:1)
Hmm, it didn't take long for a standard "Bah! Features suck! Everything should be good for one thing and one thing only!" reply to turn up.
My current futurephone has a nice big 16-bit color display, another, smaller, 16-bit color display on the back, a camera, can do email, surf the web, play 48-voice polyphonic ringtones, and a whole ton of other stuff that I haven't figured out yet. I think that its battery life suffers a bit for this--it only gets about two weeks of standby, and about six hours of ta
Lost Phone? (Score:2, Interesting)
(let's assume you don't have any friends and your work doesn't have any phones, either, OK?)
Re:Lost Phone? (Score:1)
Re:Lost Phone? (Score:2)
Re:Lost Phone? (Score:2)
--RJ
Great.. (Score:4, Funny)
Now when I lose my phone, it will be even more of a pain in the ass. Not to mention the increased likelyhood of someone just grabbing your phone right out of your hand while you're talking on it. And using it as a house key!?!? Now I've got to buy TWO phones so I can throw one under the doormat? It'll be hard to explain to my friends to disregard the lump under the mat, while at the same time being careful not to step on it. (Just kidding, I have no friends).
The press release doesn't mention anything about security either.. At least my credit card has a signature on the back for the cashiers to pretend to examine.
Re:Great.. (Score:1)
Like they even do this anymore these days... the signature strip on the back of my card has worn out the point where "VOID" is rather easily visible now.
Only once in the past three months was I even asked for additional ID since my signature wasn't readable... once.
Nobody has ever commented on the fact that my card now says VOID across the back where the signature strip used to be/still partially is.
Heck I bet n
Re:Great.. (Score:2)
Re:Great.. (Score:2)
All-in-All, we sure do need better security on our monies, especially as we move towards a cashless society.
Tin foil time (Score:2, Funny)
As I said yesterday... (Score:3)
Sometimes a phone is just a phone... (Score:3, Informative)
Keep a lookout on eBay for the Ericsson r520m. Bluetooth, GPRS data modem, simple black and white screen, simple phone beeps, no camera, no MP3, (unless you get an attachment) no frills. It was popular in Europe amongst business people looking for a no-nonsense phone.
This was the last phone Ericsson made in Sweden and the last phone before the Sony/Ericsson merger.
You never see them locked to a carrier because t
Re:As I said yesterday... (Score:2)
Many people carry an MP3 player on the subway, and to carry one less device and integrate the headphones into your phone's hands free system is really convenient.
Likewise always having a camera to take pictures of something fun or unexpected is great, and while the quality isn't as good as my dedicated digital camera, it's too heavy to carry it everywhere I go.
Here in Korea the regular cell phone is a solved
Re:As I said yesterday... (Score:2)
Wha? (Score:3, Insightful)
Great idea, but... (Score:2, Informative)
The first time I tried to buy groceries in Japan with a CC, the woman looked at my like I was crazy, called her supervisor, who looked at me like I was crazy and called his supervisor, who looked at me like was crazy and called his supervisor, who... Well, if you've lived in Japan you know how their management and beauraucracy
Re:Great idea, but... (Score:1)
Re:Great idea, but... (Score:2, Informative)
2900$ [gallup.com]
Re:Great idea, but... (Score:2)
Re:Great idea, but... (Score:2)
--RJ
Re:Great idea, but... (Score:1)
And what about using ATM cards instores?
I've been using my regular cash card at pretty well every store that I go to in New Zealand for many years now, with no hassles. Everything from a bar to a supermarket to a car dealership. This idea is only just starting to catch on in Japan.
Use Dexit in Toronto (Score:3, Interesting)
Telus Mobility also has a Dexit tag that attaches to your cellphone [dexit.com] so it acts something like the one described in the article. It's not built into the phone, but rather just a different style Dexit tag that attaches to the phone.
Anyhow, they're quite useful for small ($50) day-to-day purchases.
Old news (Score:3, Informative)
http://www.phonescoop.com/news/item.php?n=888 [phonescoop.com]
But for those of us in the west, there's news, too, such as Nokia yesterday announcing a faceplate accessory that adds this feature to one of their phones:
http://www.phonescoop.com/news/item.php?n=994 [phonescoop.com]
And Motorola recently announcing a U.S. trial of this technology together with MasterCard:
http://www.phonescoop.com/news/item.php?n=973 [phonescoop.com]
Don't confuse this new NFC-based technology with passive technology like the gas-station keychain things, or touch-based transit passes, campus ID cards, etc. This is different, because it's active and dyanamic - it's integrated with the phone.
That means it can serve multiple purposes. It can be your cash, credit card, debit card, bus pass, driver's license, and work ID all in one. Then you can download a Java app to the phone that will let it replace your grocery dicount card, too. It really can replace your whole wallet - not just a credit card. That's what's so cool about NFC systems like FeliCa.
I don't like the sounds of this (Score:4, Interesting)
The thing is, with actual paper money and credit cards and everything else, you're not likely to have your wallet out of your pants during the train ride, but around here a good 25% of the people on the train have their cel phones out doing text messaging or playing video games during the train ride.
It seems like there'll be a greater chance for people to lose their cel phones than their wallets, and now that we're cramming everything under the sun into cel phones, it'll just be more devistating to lose one.
Re:I don't like the sounds of this (Score:2)
As for playing the oblivion route... that can work some times, but you never know when that baff
it's a debit card (Score:3, Informative)
My phone is capable of that, but I never used. Some convenience stores, video rentals and even Coca-Cola vending machines are planned to be payable using Felica mainly next year, but I still don't see many shops around me where I can use that.
Out for a while? (Score:1)
It may not have been a DoCoMo phone, but with DoCoMo backing this service it's about to get really popular really quick...
Korea has had this for over 18 months (Score:2)
The electronic wallet system is called Moneta and my phone has a slot for a smart card (same size as a GSM SIM card) issued by a bank. It communicates contactlessly by waving it over a receiver at some ATMs, restaurants etc. You can also use it instead of a regular contactless smartcard for the subway/bus etc.
The phone has a set of menus which communicate with the smart card to
Fraud... without stealing someone's phone. (Score:2, Insightful)
The i-mode FeliCa serves as a "mobile wallet" that detects weak electronic signals from a reader/writer and can be used when the phone is off. I wish I could find the original article I read about this technology some months back. The main concern of the technology's proponents at the time of writing was this: What if someone obtained a reader/writer device and modified it to increase the signal strength? Then, this person would theoretically be able to rob an entire subway platform full of people
Re:Fraud... without stealing someone's phone. (Score:2)
if I wave my phone to my friends and ... (Score:1)
How is this interesting? (Score:1)
But can someone explain to me how you couldn't do the exact same thing by gluing an RFID tag on the back of some part of the phone like the battery cover or something.
universal remote (Score:2)
awesome! (Score:2)
A Japanese innovation? (Score:2)
Bleah, lame. (Score:2)
GSM is your friend.
Easy money? (Score:1)
Octopus Card (Score:1)