It seems like smartphones running on Google's Android platform are slowly, but surely winning the race, while crowd favorite Apple Inc.'s iPhone 5 is still sleeping in some overseas production plants. Android phones now have bigger screens, an improved interface, more powerful processors, and now, virtual wallets?

Google Inc. has officially released Google Wallet, an app that Android smartphones to pay for a product or service. Using near field communication (NCF) technology, the Android application stores virtual versions of users' credit cards, allowing users to make payments by waving or tapping the smartphone over an NCF reader at check-out.

The search giant says Google Wallet is initially available to all Sprint Nexus S 4G phones through an over-the-air update. Customers currently can use a Citi Mastercard credit card or a Google Prepaid Card to pay for purchases.

Many Android smartphones on the market already contain embedded NFC chips that can send encrypted data a short distance to a reader located next to a retail cash register or to other NFC devices.

Apple Inc. is rumored to include NFC technology in its iPhone 5. The virtual-wallet service, faster A5 processor, the advanced 8-megapixel camera, and a host of new features though remain as rumors given that Apple continues to be mum about the already four months overdue iPhone 5.

While Apple is embroiled in production issues with the fifth generation iPhone, smartphone makers like Samsung Electronics, Motorola Mobility and HTC Corp. have unveiled new handsets that are more powerful than the iPhone. Stewart Wolpin says in an article at DVICE says that indications are, iPhone 5 will actually be more an iPhone 4S, a minor upgrade in screen size, antenna and design, with few significant improvements. "Which means the next iteration of the iPhone, once the technological master of the smart phone universe, is likely to be nowhere near the top of the today's most innovative phones," Wolpin said.

Google, on the other hand, has already inked deals with key credit card providers for the NCF service. Google is working with Citigroup Inc. and Mastercard Inc. to help Android smartphone owners use their device as a payment method at stores that support NCF. The Mountain View, California-based company is also teaming up with Visa Inc., Discover Financial Services and American Express Co. to make the service more widely available.

"Our goal is to make it possible for you to add all of your payment cards to Google Wallet, so you can say goodbye to even the biggest traditional wallets," the company said in the blog post. Visa, Discover and American Express have opened their NFC specifications to Google, which may allow their cards to be added to future versions of the application, Google said.

So is Google Wallet another, or the last nail in the coffin for the iPhone 5?

For more about Google Wallet, check this video: