Samsung develops mobile RFID chip

Samsung Electronics Co. said yesterday it has developed a single-chip solution for mobile radio frequency identification which combines a radio frequency reader, memory, a processor and other functions into one.
Samsung, the world's No. 1 maker of computer chips, plans to start mass production of the chip next month and rev up efforts to tap into the lucrative RFID market.
The new chip is the smallest at 6.5 by 6.5 millimeters, consumes less power than existing chips, and thus is suitable for mobile devices, company officials explained.
"We are enabling anytime, anywhere mobile access to information," said Chung Chil-hee, senior vice president of Samsung Electronics' System LSI division. "RFID chip reader systems allow consumers to pull context-specific information into their mobile devices while on the go.
Mobile RFID reader chips developed by Samsung Electronics Co. [Samsung Electronics]Our mobile RFID single-chip technology is an important step in the evolution of ubiquitous computing environments." Embedded RFID reader chips can provide consumers with product or service information retrieved from RFID tags incorporated in items such as movie posters, clothing, and museums or tourist exhibits.
According to market research firm RoA Group, the global demand for mobile RFID is expected to grow from $26.9 billion in 2007 to $701 billion by 2010, for a compound annual growth of 196 percent.
While it can be embedded into devices such as mobile handsets and handheld readers used in retail stores, the primary initial application for Samsung's new RFID reader chip is expected to be in card-type readers that plug into mobile handsets, the company said.
(milaya@heraldm.com)
By Lee Sun-young
2007.11.28