15 May 2009

Nokia To Incorporate Radio Frequency ID
Chips Into Mobile Phones For 'Inventory Control'

RFID chips are being embedded in everything from jeans to paper money or animals, and there is a widespread fear that our privacy will be at risk in the coming years!

Apparently, Nokia is planning to go a step further and incorporate radio frequency identification chips (RFID) in its handsets to to improve the efficiency of device tracking and management from assembly through recycling.

The company sees "numerous benefits" from using the chip tags "early in the process, and early in the process for Nokia means in the device itself," Jarkko Jaervilehto, a Nokia development manager, said Tuesday at an industry seminar in Vantaa, Finland.

RFID tags are microchips half the size of a grain of sand. They listen for a radio query and respond by transmitting their unique ID code. Most RFID tags have no batteries: They use the power from the initial radio signal to transmit their response. Some tags can be read from several meters away and beyond the line of sight of the reader.

RFID is already used to track boxes and pallets at factories and retailers such as Wal-Mart Stores, reducing the need for checking by hand or using bar codes. The chips equipped with radio transmitters are also used for tagging pet animals. The technology will help Nokia monitor sales stocks, getting quicker feedback on fluctuations in demand, Jaervilehto said.

He said it wasn't clear when Espoo, Finland-based Nokia would start putting the chips in its phones, saying technology and standards need more development. European Union privacy laws may also require that consumers be able to switch off the tags, he said.