NXP and Sony launch Moversa
Formed as a joint venture between NXP and Sony, Moversa is a new company that will provide secure chips promoting global access to contactless services. Headquartered in Vienna, Austria, Moversa is led by NXP's Guus Frericks and Toshio Yoshihara of Sony. The solutions - incorporating MIFARE, FeliCa and other operating systems - will help drive global adoption of contactless smart card applications in mobile phones using NFC (Near Field Communication).
Moversa plans to introduce a universal secure access module (U-SAM). When used with an NFC chip, the U-SAM will create a universal contactless IC platform for mobile phones, accelerating the adoption of NFC on a global level. NFC has proven popular in numerous trials since NXP and Sony introduced the short-range wireless technology to the market in 2002. It has opened up new opportunities for commercial mobile services, such as mobile payments and transport ticketing, around the world.
Moversa's U-SAM will allow mobile device manufacturers to design products compatible with contactless protocols in different countries, enabling service providers to accelerate the rollout of advanced contactless services to mobile phone users.
First samples of the secure chip will be available by mid-2008 for solutions embedded in mobile phones. Initial commercial deployments are targeted for the end of next year.
