We thought the NFC ship had sailed for good on the otherwise excellent Samsung Galaxy S 2 that's just launched in the UK – even reporting as much a couple of weeks ago.
But it looks like we – and everyone else who ran the story – were wrong, as Samsung itself has confirmed to a Mobotnik that an NFC version of the Galaxy S II is set to launch in the UK next month.
The Galaxy S2 was our favourite phone to emerge at Mobile World Congress, and one of the features we were most looking forward to was its Near Field Communication (NFC) abilities – the contactless data transfer tech used by the likes of the Oyster Card for making micro-payments and the like.
So we were disappointed to hear reports at the end of last month emphatically ruling NFC out from ever appearing on the Galaxy S II.
Now, however, Mobotnik SimboUK tells us a different story, one confirmed by two different Samsung Customer Support Centre team members: an NFC-enabled version of the handset IS on the way, and will launch next month.
You can read SimboUK's full account here, but he reveals he got in touch with Samsung to enquire about the rumoured 32GB version of the handset, as well as for clarification on NFC and exactly which regions would be getting it.
Online Support Team member Aya Smith responded, saying she couldn't confirm the status of the 32GB model, before adding: “In regards to your query on the NFC, please note that we have just received the updates that the NFC would be launched in the UK by June, however, we don’t hold enough information on the regions it will be available with.”
Our intrepid Mobotnik wasn't to be deterred, however, and pressed his case further. A second Samsung team member, Julia Jones, got in touch earlier today.
“Regarding your query, kindly note we have received a confirmation that the Near Field Communication ‘NFC’ version of the Galaxy S II should be available in the UK by June 2011,” she confirmed. “Kindly know that there are no plans to launch the Galaxy S II in 32GB model in the UK.”
So there it is – thanks for the tip-off SimboUK, and top marks for your perseverance!
