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Comment by vaporstun | Hacker News Reader

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.

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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.

Actually, a lot of phones have NFC technology in them.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Near_field_communication#NFC-en...

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).

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.

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