Moversa, a joint venture between semiconductor manufacturer NXP and Sony, has unveiled a new security chip to manage contactless smart card applications in NFC-compliant phones. The Universal Secure Access Module predictably will support both NXP’s MIFARE and Sony’s FeliCa systems as well as other operating systems and applications.
Scheduled to be introduced at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain Feb. 16-19, the U-SAM is also expected to support a number of other contactless operating systems and applications and will be available in both embedded and SIM form factors. The chip will enable mobile device manufacturers to design products which are interoperable with existing contactless infrastructures.
“Moversa’s U-SAM delivers a key bridge between existing contactless specifications and services, simplifying and expanding the potential for future contactless platforms and applications”, said Jonathan Collins, principal analyst, RFID & contactless for ABI Research. “Its arrival will help drive the rollout of NFC globally enhancing the reach of mobile contactless services in transport ticketing, payment and access management applications.”
Moversa will begin sampling U-SAM to selected customers during the middle of 2009 with full deployment slated for the first half of next year.
Moversa, headquartered in Vienna, Austria, was created in November 2007 to focus on contactless technologies. ![[end]](/resources/bullet/contactlessnews-4.gif)
