Texas Instruments has launched a family of all-in-one combo chips that incorporates NFC technology. The WiLink 8.0 family is TI’s first NFC chip designed for mobile handsets and smartphones. Last summer the company launched its first NFC chip aimed at other devices such as medical equipment rather than the mobile market.  TI also claims the new chip is the industry’s first combo chip family to embed a complete NFC controller solution making NFC integration possible, and simpler, on any mobile device.

The WiLink 8.0 family will support four radio technologies in addition to NFC: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GNSS and FM. Solutions based on WiLink 8.0 are being sampled already by what TI describes as “top-tier” mobile OEMs. Products incorporating the solutions are expected in the second half of this year. Of the five solutions in the WiLink 8.0 family, two include NFC technology.  The solutions will be paired and pre-tested with Secure Element technologies from other vendors including Infineon and NXP. TI’s announcement follows a cautiously optimistic message about NFC’s prospects in 2012 from chipset leader NXP and an uptick in recent demand for rival Inside Secure.