INSIDE Secure Introduces Open NFC Stack for Google Android 4.0

Makes "Ice Cream Sandwich" Easy to Adapt to Any NFC Hardware

AIX-EN-PROVENCE, France, January 17, 2012 - INSIDE Secure, a leader in semiconductor solutions for secure transactions, today announced the availability of the latest version of its award-winning, open-source Open NFC(tm) protocol stack for the new Google Android(tm) 4.0 release, aka Ice Cream Sandwich. Available for download from the Open NFC website (www.open-nfc.org), Open NFC version 4.3.3 for Google Android 4.0 is compliant with the Ice Cream Sandwich release Compatibility Definition Document (CDD) for NFC, and provides the NFC ecosystem with a consistent NFC API and functionality to implement NFC independently of the underlying NFC hardware. It supports all the latest Android NFC features, including Android Beam and WiFi Direct pairing connection. In addition to these new Android services, Open NFC provides access to unique features such as card emulation and access to multiple secure elements.

"The Ice Cream Sandwich release brings even greater NFC functionality to the Android operating system, and INSIDE is making our latest version of Open NFC available to give connectivity chip vendors, smartphone and tablet manufacturers and software developers a head start in achieving NFC hardware independence," said Charles Walton, COO for INSIDE Secure.  "Once again, INSIDE is offering the Android community a complete, open-source NFC stack solution that can be used to greatly speed development and time to market, requiring only that the small hardware abstraction layer  (HAL) portion be tailored for specific hardware."

The complete, open-source HAL for INSIDE's MicroRead(r) and SecuRead(r) also is available for download.  The HAL allows the Open NFC protocol stack to be used immediately with INSIDE's MicroRead(r) and SecuRead(r) NFC chip platforms, and provides a convenient model for developing HALs for NFC chips from other manufacturers. It brings consistency across multiple platforms and devices as well as improved interoperability. According to Walton, Open NFC already has been deployed in millions of smartphones, and INSIDE anticipates this latest version of Open NFC will be incorporated into Android-based smartphones and tablets that will ship in 2012.

Open NFC supports several levels of functionality, from low-level RF control to high-level NFC Forum tag handling, peer-to-peer communications as well as Bluetooth and Wi-Fi pairing, interactions with single-wire protocol SIMs and other secure elements, and compatibility with smart cards and RFID tags based on Felica, Mifare and ISO 14443 standards. 

Since it was introduced in 2009, the Open NFC protocol stack has become recognized as a cost-effective, open-standards NFC middleware solution, and has received significant industry support from a broad array of participants in the NFC ecosystem.  Open NFC received a prestigious Sesames Award for software at Cartes & Identification 2010 because it offers a genuine breakthrough that brings significant benefits to OEMs and ODMs.

Availability

INSIDE Secure's Open NFC 4.3.3 for ICS can be downloaded free from the Open NFC web site, www.open-nfc.org.

About INSIDE Secure

INSIDE Secure is a leading designer, developer and supplier of semiconductors, embedded software and platforms for secure transactions and digital security.  INSIDE mobile NFC, secure payment and digital security products provide security for a wide range of information processing, storage and transmission applications.  The company's customers are found in a wide range of markets including mobile payment, identification documents, access control, transit, electronic device manufacturing, pay television and mobile service operators.  For more information, visit www.insidesecure.com.