Softbank offers NFC sticker for iPhone 4 in Japan

With 2011 just around the corner and Google’s Nexus S featuring an NFC chip, many folks are speculating that 2011 may see a spike in interest in NFC technology. Of course, the technology is already pretty popular in Japan with its FeliCa payment system. The bad news for Apple’s iPhone is that there isn’t a built-in NFC chip just yet. Now Japanese carrier Softbank has a workaround to that, offering a seal/sticker for Apple’s iPhone 4, covering almost the whole of the phone’s back, but remaining thin enough so that it doesn’t get in the way of Apple’s bumper casing. The sticker doesn’t actually communicate with the iPhone itself, rather it’s just an NFC card of its own. It’s already on sale in Japan for 2,980 Yen ($36).