Finally, an alternative to Google Wallet – now if only I could find somewhere that actually accepts NFC payment. PayPal completely remade their Android app today, adding near-field communication support, though support for actual retail payments seems to be a little lacking. A completely new layout, a more minimal interface, and a new widget round out the additions. You can download the latest version in the Android Market now.
Tablet support has been added, even if it’s really just a scaled-up version of the smartphone UI. And it’s hard to imagine someone lugging a 10-inch XOOM into a 7-11 just to avoid pulling out their wallet. Unfortunately, It looks like you can only request money via the homescreen widget, not pay, and that necessitates another Android user nearby with an NFC-enabled phone. Who owes you money.
Other than some widened support and those new features, it’s the same PayPal app that users have grown to rely on. A split bill calculator makes divvying up a dinner check or gas receipt easy. After a quick install on my Samsung Skyrocket review unit, the app seems stable, but unfortunately it isn’t recognizing the phone’s NFC chip. We’ll see if the support improves in a future update. Now if only Google would add PayPal support to Android Market purchases…
