Last week I saw an Ad in the TV showing two friends sharing music,picture and playing games simply by tapping their phones against each other , something like in sci-fi movie.It got me intrigued and i found out that the technology behind this was "NFC -near field communication".
Co-invented by NXP Semiconductors and Sony in 2002, Near Field Communication, or NFC, allows you to share, interconnect many devices, make mobile payments, read NFC-enabled tags and even do multi-player gaming by tapping your device against your friends' cool isn't :) .
Well you may now ask that , why on earth do i need NFC when we have the Blue-tooth technology that allow you to do exactly the same things like NFC.Well then here's some fact :
1) NFC is a gesture based (touch-tap ) process which makes it easier than the two to three step process for Bluetooth.
2)For it to work, both the interacting devices need to be embedded with NFC chips. These chips operate in a short range, generally around 4 cm or less. The speed of data transfer is around 440 kilobits per second which is more than enough for applications like reading card information or connecting devices.Well this speed is at least 10-20 times faster than bluetooth transfer rate.
3)NFC enabled phones which have your credit card information stored enables you to make mobile payments by tapping against the credit card reader without physically swapping the card , so you no longer need your credit cards.
4)On your way back from office, the hit song of the latest Bollywood blockbuster catches your attention. Loving the tune, you walk into a nearby music store. You reach for the film's poster, touch your phone against it and tap it.
It downloads the song and even makes the payment. You share it with friends by 'touch-tap' again and, finally, you reach home and 'touch-tap' the phone with your home entertainment system to listen to the music in all its glory. This may seem like sci-fi but the technology behind it is already here.ALL this is possible with NFC.
So whats your take Bluetooth or NFC ?
In India, Apple and Samsung have launched NFC enabled phones on iOS and Android respectively . Nokia has also launched six NFC phones and Blackberry-maker RIM two phones. This means that a NFC handset is available for as low as Rs 11,000 today.
