Google Wallet Update Being Pushed To Nexus 7

[Babyfacemagee]

If one of the cool features of Jelly Bean and your Nexus 7 Tablet that's gotten you excited is NFC (Near Field Communication) then you're in luck.  Google is currently pushing an update to your new tablet that enables 'Google Wallet' on your device.   So for those not familiar just what is 'Google Wallet'?  In a nutshell, it's a 'smart' 'virtual wallet' that enables you to pay for goods and services simply by tapping your device against an in-store payment transmitter.  It can also be used online at thousands of merchants.   It's basically a way to take you closer to a 'cashless' existence. 

With Google Wallet your credit card information is securely stored on your device and in the cloud and your 'Google Wallet' account is also combined with 'Google Offers' that are automatically synced where applicable.   You'll no longer have to sign in individually for all different kinds of online stores and sites.  your 'Google Wallet' account let's you pay and go without the fuss.   For security your 'Google Wallet' account is easily password lockable with all the data encrypted.  Now granted typically 'Google Wallet' is something you'd have on your Android phone but since the Nexus 7 is so light, the company is projecting that enough people will carry their tablet around with them in their backpack or jacket pocket that you can simply use your Nexus 7 as your 'Google Wallet' device.  Of course you can have the service on both your tablet and phone so no matter which you grab before you go out the door you have it with you.   Leave your credit cards and cash at home...just use 'Google Wallet'. 

Google Wallet For Nexus 7

[samalex]

NFC is nice and all, but given there's no 3G/4G connectivity I'm not sure how useful it'll be in the N7.  I guess if a shop supports Wifi it could be used, but i can see some frustration from everyone as someone tries to setup the wifiaccess point in the checkout line just to use NFC. 

Don't get me wrong, I love the idea of NFC and think it's definitely the future, but in the N7 I'm not sure that it's very practical.  Personally I wish they would've nixed the NFC interface and gone with an HDMI port instead.

[Babyfacemagee]

Apparently you don't need to be connected via wi-fi to use 'Google Wallet'.  The payment terminal does the contacting of your account.  All you need is your device (tablet/phone) and no 3G/4G or Wi-Fi connection is necessary.    Of course you do need to have Wi-Fi access at home when you originally set up your account but that's all.

[samalex]

Apparently you don't need to be connected via wi-fi to use 'Google Wallet'.  The payment terminal does the contacting of your account.  All you need is your device (tablet/phone) and no 3G/4G or Wi-Fi connection is necessary.    Of course you do need to have Wi-Fi access at home when you originally set up your account but that's all.

That's actually pretty swift and good to know...  Then thumbs up all the way :-D