7 ms·

Google Wallet

60 points by ssn 15y ago

nuclear_eclipse 15y ago
Why does it matter what carrier my Nexus S is on? If all the Nexus S models have NFC capabilities, what difference does it make that mine is the GSM model on T-Mobile or a regional GSM/CDMA carrier vs a CDMA model on Sprint? Edit: nvm, didn't see the other discussion: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2588380 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2588380
tevans 15y ago
I find it amusing that the logo looks like wave's. Actually, I'm pretty sure I've seen that exact logo design somewhere else (not Google related, however).
vaporstun 15y ago
From the FAQ: > Can I use Google Wallet with my phone? > Google Wallet with tap and pay will be compatible with Nexus S 4G by Google, available on Sprint®. Now I know they have to start somewhere, but I have doubts about their ability to gain traction when they have compatibility with one device on one carrier at launch. They'd better ramp up quickly if they don't want this to be another Wave.
- theBobMcCormick 15y ago
  This is more than just a simple app install. The phone has to actually have an NFC radio, antenna, etc. inside for it to work. It's kind of a chicken and egg problem. No handsets (except the Nexus S) have NFC hardware because currently there's nothing your users can do with the NFC hardware. Now there is, so hopefully more handsets will start coming with NFC.
  - deleted 15y ago
    [deleted]
  - vaporstun 15y ago
    I understand that, I'm not suggesting they magically beam NFC hardware into existing handsets, but that they ought to have prepared things a bit better beforehand. They could have some NFC peripheral that can plug onto existing handsets to extend them the functionality. In the FAQ, they mention nothing about how they will support other phones in the future or have any expansion plans. They say only that it works with the Nexus S. I'm a bit surprised that more phones haven't been released with NFC hardware as the Nexus S has been out for ~6 months. With such a small userbase, something like this will be dead in the water unless they push hard and try to get more widespread adoption.
  - djackson 15y ago
    Actually, a lot of phones have NFC technology in them. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Near_field_communication#NFC-enabled_handsets http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Near_field_communication#NFC-en...
    - theBobMcCormick 15y ago
      I believe the only ones of those that are Android are the Nexus S and the Galaxy S II (which apparently only offers it on some models, not others).
- Periodic 15y ago
  It looks like it's compatible with the previous touch-card-to-reader-to-pay infrastructure that has been rolling out slowly. This is simply a way of having your phone emulate the card. So really, this technology builds onto an existing ecosystem, and since it integrates so easily (no upgrades from merchants) the main issue will be if they can get enough people to use it to make it profitable. I'm having trouble finding the exact details. But that is the gist I'm getting.
minalecs 15y ago
I'm more excited for the Google virtual prepaid card. For some reason, a lot of credit cards don't offer one time use credit card numbers for online spending. I know Citi does and at one time paypal did
- mmt 15y ago
  Bank of America (from their purchase of MBNA) does as well, though possibly not on all cards.
amalag 15y ago
So the idea is this is more than credit cards, it is about using NFC to replace keys, boarding passes, and whatever else you can think of. Not so clear on the monetization for google. Well after my first gen iphone broke, i still don't have a smart phone. Is this worth $30 a month yet? No, not to me.
- pstack 15y ago
  I have no intention of ever owning a smart phone. When I buy a cell, I look for the phone with the best battery and highest call quality. That's it. I don't need to surf the web, watch videos, listen to music, or send text messages. I'm not against the idea of using my phone as a payment device, but I'm not going to get a data plan or a new phone for it. Further, I'm not going to use a company for my money transactions that doesn't seem to have any way to reach a human being to get help when something of theirs that you use goes wrong. If Amazon did this, I'd be all over it. When I have a problem with Amazon, I can call them directly with little or no hold time. Or I can email them and get a reply within hours.
closedbracket 15y ago
How can the google wallet site not use sprites for the navigation images? http://cl.ly/77E8 http://cl.ly/77E8 Oh, and the links don't work when you click on "How it works" http://cl.ly/76Vv http://cl.ly/76Vv TIL I could work for google.
absentbird 15y ago
Am I missing something? Why can't they just produce a Micro-SD card that can run in card emulation mode? Wouldn't that allow a lot of people to use this without new phones?
bitsm 15y ago
So, could this work between two phones? That would be interesting: Paypal meets Square (and possibly disrupts both).

60 points by ssn 15y ago

Why does it matter what carrier my Nexus S is on? If all the Nexus S models have NFC capabilities, what difference does it make that mine is the GSM model on T-Mobile or a regional GSM/CDMA carrier vs a CDMA model on Sprint? Edit: nvm, didn't see the other discussion: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2588380 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2588380

tevans 15y ago

I find it amusing that the logo looks like wave's. Actually, I'm pretty sure I've seen that exact logo design somewhere else (not Google related, however).

vaporstun 15y ago

From the FAQ: > Can I use Google Wallet with my phone? > Google Wallet with tap and pay will be compatible with Nexus S 4G by Google, available on Sprint®. Now I know they have to start somewhere, but I have doubts about their ability to gain traction when they have compatibility with one device on one carrier at launch. They'd better ramp up quickly if they don't want this to be another Wave.

theBobMcCormick 15y ago
This is more than just a simple app install. The phone has to actually have an NFC radio, antenna, etc. inside for it to work. It's kind of a chicken and egg problem. No handsets (except the Nexus S) have NFC hardware because currently there's nothing your users can do with the NFC hardware. Now there is, so hopefully more handsets will start coming with NFC.
- deleted 15y ago
  [deleted]
- vaporstun 15y ago
  I understand that, I'm not suggesting they magically beam NFC hardware into existing handsets, but that they ought to have prepared things a bit better beforehand. They could have some NFC peripheral that can plug onto existing handsets to extend them the functionality. In the FAQ, they mention nothing about how they will support other phones in the future or have any expansion plans. They say only that it works with the Nexus S. I'm a bit surprised that more phones haven't been released with NFC hardware as the Nexus S has been out for ~6 months. With such a small userbase, something like this will be dead in the water unless they push hard and try to get more widespread adoption.
- djackson 15y ago
  Actually, a lot of phones have NFC technology in them. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Near_field_communication#NFC-enabled_handsets http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Near_field_communication#NFC-en...
  - theBobMcCormick 15y ago
    I believe the only ones of those that are Android are the Nexus S and the Galaxy S II (which apparently only offers it on some models, not others).
Periodic 15y ago
It looks like it's compatible with the previous touch-card-to-reader-to-pay infrastructure that has been rolling out slowly. This is simply a way of having your phone emulate the card. So really, this technology builds onto an existing ecosystem, and since it integrates so easily (no upgrades from merchants) the main issue will be if they can get enough people to use it to make it profitable. I'm having trouble finding the exact details. But that is the gist I'm getting.

minalecs 15y ago

I'm more excited for the Google virtual prepaid card. For some reason, a lot of credit cards don't offer one time use credit card numbers for online spending. I know Citi does and at one time paypal did

mmt 15y ago
Bank of America (from their purchase of MBNA) does as well, though possibly not on all cards.

amalag 15y ago

So the idea is this is more than credit cards, it is about using NFC to replace keys, boarding passes, and whatever else you can think of. Not so clear on the monetization for google. Well after my first gen iphone broke, i still don't have a smart phone. Is this worth $30 a month yet? No, not to me.

pstack 15y ago
I have no intention of ever owning a smart phone. When I buy a cell, I look for the phone with the best battery and highest call quality. That's it. I don't need to surf the web, watch videos, listen to music, or send text messages. I'm not against the idea of using my phone as a payment device, but I'm not going to get a data plan or a new phone for it. Further, I'm not going to use a company for my money transactions that doesn't seem to have any way to reach a human being to get help when something of theirs that you use goes wrong. If Amazon did this, I'd be all over it. When I have a problem with Amazon, I can call them directly with little or no hold time. Or I can email them and get a reply within hours.

closedbracket 15y ago

How can the google wallet site not use sprites for the navigation images? http://cl.ly/77E8 http://cl.ly/77E8 Oh, and the links don't work when you click on "How it works" http://cl.ly/76Vv http://cl.ly/76Vv TIL I could work for google.

absentbird 15y ago

Am I missing something? Why can't they just produce a Micro-SD card that can run in card emulation mode? Wouldn't that allow a lot of people to use this without new phones?

bitsm 15y ago

So, could this work between two phones? That would be interesting: Paypal meets Square (and possibly disrupts both).