Who would have imagined that the device which is used for making calls and sending messages will get so advanced that one will even be able to make payments through them? The new technology which is behind transforming your mobile into one of the payment modes is called NFC (near field communication).

Speculation is rife that Apple may be coming out with a service which will turn your iPad or your iPhone into a payment device. The news was reported by Bloomberg Report as well as ABC News. When Apple was questioned by ABC News, its spokeswoman Natalie Harrison did not wish to discuss this issue but stated that Apple is not in a position to comment on any rumour or speculation. But will it stop bloggers to talk about it? Surely not.

Google’s Nexus S is in the market and banking on this technology, is already NFC-enabled. Companies like RIM and Nokia too intend to offer new NFC-enabled smartphones very soon.

One of the technology research firm called Aite Group had its co-founder and research director Gween Bezard tell ABC News that he is sure about Apple introducing something on NFC. However it is only a matter of the timing of that introduction – whether it happens this year or the next or the one after that is left to be seen.

As per the Aite Group, in the US market alone, they have predicted that the pay-by-phone transactions will exceed $22 billion by the year 2015.

Modu, launched by an Israeli cellphone company and Gizmodo that closed its doors on Peep Wireless, just proved that every new phone introduced in the market has a shady side to it which remains incomprehensible.

An article on Sell Your Mobile discusses some of the popular business ideas that got to the market in style but never took off. Some of them have been highlighted here:

• Peep Wireless: This concept aimed at using the wireless phone without any network as it created peer-to-peer global mobility amongst its users. Scott Redmond, also known for his idea of inflatable electric cars, developed this concept and co-incidentally, both these met the same fate.

• Modu: Founded in 2007, Modu was a little modular phone that could be made to wear different “jackets” like speakers, camera, digital picture frame, night jacket etc. and stirred up weird responses.

• zzzPhone: Meant to be cheap smartphones which could be customized by the users, unfortunately, the specifications went on changing. To make matters worse, the company even shipped out a small number of low-quality handsets. Larry Horowitz, the person behind zzzPhone, is in Philippines and runs a call centre now.

• Saygus VPhone: This was an Android phone having features of VoIP and video calling and was planned for Verizon Wireless. It never saw light of the day after being shown at various trade shows during the last year. Not only does one get an answer-phone when you try to contact them on their telephone, but even their website has gone dead.

A recent article on Sell Your Mobile illustrated how some of the wacky mobile phone ideas really didn’t make it too far in this dynamic and ever growing world of cellphones. This article about business idea failures was written after the Israeli cellphone company Modu ceased its operations.

Below are some of them that topped the list:

• Modu: A petite modular phone which could slip into a variety of “jackets” offering its user features like digital picture frame, speakers, camera etc. For kids, there was also a rugged jacket. It was the first lightest mobile device and evoked equally wacky reactions from the cellphone users.

• Peep Wireless: The idea behind Peep Wireless was to create a peer-to-peer network among the mobile users and be able to communicate without using the wireless carriers. Scott Redmond was the man behind this business plan and unfortunately, even his earlier innovation of introducing inflatable electric cars didn’t take off as expected.

• Saygus VPhone: Meant for Verizon Wireless users, this was an Android phone having capabilities of video calling and VoIP. After the Saygus VPhone was displayed at various trade shows last year, it was not to be seen anywhere later. Neither one gets through to their website nor on the telephone which only has an answering machine responding.

• zzzPhone: Brainchild of Larry Horowitz, this concept was about customized and cheap smartphones but the drawback was that the specs kept on changing. It even sent out some low-quality headsets and that brought in the ultimate failure.

There have been quite a few mobile phone ideas in the recent past that didn’t do all too well. A few articles have been written on these mobile phone ideas which seemed wacky and full of innovation but never really turned out to be the roaring commercial success that they aimed to become. Most of them disappeared faster than they hit the mobile phone market.

zzzPhone, for example, was the concept initiated by Larry Horowitz. The company which tried to make custom made smartphones that are inexpensive faced a major obstacle with changing specs. After shipping out a few poor quality mobiles, the company disappeared altogether.

Another mobile phone company that faced the same fate was Saygus VPhone, an Android phone which came laced with VoIP and video calling features. A few appearances at tradeshows and then the phone and the company had both disappeared without a trace.

Peep Wireless was recently abandoned by Gizmodo, which felt that for every well-made smartphone, there is a shadier promise that doesn’t see the light of the day. Peep Wireless, was the idea of Scott Redmund, who believed that by creating peer-to-peer network, wireless carriers can be entirely done away with. Unfortunately, it was this idea that was done away with just like his previous concept of inflatable electric cars.

The most recent example of mobile phone ideas not turning out to be successful was that of Modu, an Israel based company. The idea was to use small modular phones in jackets lending them smart features like speakers and digital photo frames. The idea never really took off.

There have been a few articles released in recent times about mobile phone ideas that never really took off the way they intended too. Some created a buzz, others created a flutter, but in the end they all went down the drain. Such articles have come out following the recent closure of Modu, which is an Israel based mobile phone company. The company had aimed to create a modular phone of small size that can be used in jackets to lend them additional features like that of a digital photo frame or speakers etc. There were rugged jackets for kids too. Unfortunately, the idea of modular phones in jackets never really attained success.

Gizmodo had recently shut its doors on Peep Wireless, which was the brainchild of Scott Redmond. Scott Redmond, who had conjured the idea of inflatable electric cars, felt it was possible to get rid of wireless carriers through creation of peer-to-peer networks. This idea too, like his previous one, didn’t bring any commercial success.

Larry Horowitz came up with the idea of smartphones that can be customized as per order. zzzPhone, the company, realised a bit later that the specs change too often and in the quest to make cheap smartphones, all that they could churn out was some bad quality handsets.

Saygus VPhone is another company that went down, just as swiftly as the phone had appeared at various tradeshows. There is no trace now of the Android phone which featured VoIP and video calls associated with Verizon Wireless.

We found something interesting on a website today that was discussing some mobile phone ideas that had failed, business experiments that never made it big in the arena of mobile phones. There have been two top examples of mobile phone debacles in recent past. The first one is of Peep Wireless banished by Gizmodo, which expressed disappointment over the fact that for every brilliant phone that is introduced in the market, there is also the story of another murky promise never realized in totality. The second was that of Modu, a mobile phone company based in Israel.

Modu was a modular phone that was small enough to be put into jackets to lend it new features like digital picture frame, speakers etc. It sounded like a strange idea especially with rugged jackets coming out for kids.

Peep Wireless was another company which claimed to eliminate the use of wireless carriers by creating a peer-to-peer network by using mobile phones. This idea came from Scott Redmond, whose previous idea was to create electric cars that are inflatable. Unfortunately, both the ideas deflated the same way.

Another company which met with a similar fate was Saygus VPhone, an Android mobile which had features like video calling for Verizon Wireless and VoIP. After a series of trade show appearances, the company has disappeared off the radar completely and there is no trace including on their Twitter feed and website.

zzzPhone is another one which came out with the concept of customized smartphones. Larry Horowitz came out with this idea, but, with specs changing so often, all the company could manage was a few handsets of poor quality.