Sony forms joint chip venture for secure RFID apps

A JOINT venture company called Moversa has been put together by Sony and NXP to produce a secure chip for contactless applications. It is being aimed chiefly at use inside mobile phones.

The chip will begin sampling by Q3 2008 and could be deployed commercially as early as Q1 2009.

Known as a Universal Secure Access Module (U-SAM) is aimed at typical contactless applications such as ticketing and payments made from a mobile phone.

NXP – known for its mobile phone orientated chips, was founded by Philips which, along with Sony, is a founder of the RFID standard for mobile phones – NFC (Near Field Communications).

Naturally the U-SAM is intended to work alongside an NFC chip.
The pair have long standing technologies in this area but interestingly the joint venture is being based up in the mountains of Austria. Naturally the U-SAM will incorporate Sony's Felicao card standard plus Philips' Mifare technology.

NXP's Guus Frericks will lead Moversa alongside Sony's Toshio Yoshihara. µ

L'INQ
Moversa