One thing not commented on in this article is that AT&T and T-Mobile are doing the exact same thing. Of the big 4 US carriers the only one not explicitly blocking Google Wallet is Sprint.
I use Google Wallet on my Galaxy Nexus using T-Mobile. (Or at least I did use it until my free $10 ran out. I don't get how it's supposed to be more convenient than swiping a card.)
Verizon won't let phones access their network if Google Wallet can be installed. That is significantly different from every other network.
>I don't get how it's supposed to be more convenient than swiping a card
Well I think this is the general thinking that is stopping adoption moving forward. Its one of those things that doesn't provide a small incremental value, but in the overall big picture is a huge convenience. When you look at countries like Japan and Korea that has widely adopted NFC for just about everything, its a convenience that you carry around a lot less and everything is integrated in one spot. Google Wallet is just the beginning
For some people with multiple cards to be used in different stores for example Costco only accepts american express and thats the only store I will use it at, a system like Google wallet simplifies the management of having multiple cards.
I would totally use the shit out of NFC if I could get a more secure transaction (i.e. pin/password required to be enter into my own phone -- i.e. essentially extending two-factor to my credit card transactions). i.e. better protection than stealing my physical wallet. I'd also love to get itemized receipts emailed or whatever instantly in some sort of standard markup format for analysis and record keeping.
I don't actually have a NFC phone until xmas, so I don't know if it does all of that already anyway.
For reference, square gives me the heebie-jeebies. Oh sure, swipe my card into the freaking audio jack your cell phone running who-knows-what software you've got on there and let me smear my finger to make some sort of unintelligible mark on your screen that counts as a "signature". So basically all you need is an audio chirp played over 3.5mm and some indistinct finger dragging to make a purchase. Right. Sign me up...
> if I could get a more secure transaction (i.e. pin/password required to be enter into my own phone -- i.e. essentially extending two-factor to my credit card transactions)
My problem was that I could not find any place in town to use it. The one pharmacy that had a machine and was selling amazon gift cards did not have its nfc reader working. I finally contacted google and asked for a refund for my $10.
