Near Field Communication (NFC)
Near Field Communication (NFC) is an exciting new technology allowing smartphones and other devices with a NFC chip to communicate. A quick parallel can be made with Bluetooth devices back in the 2000s (the naughtys?) which allowed us to send: pictures, songs and contact details to near-by phones. NFC allows communication when devices touch or are in close proximity and allows data transfer similar to what is enjoyed with Bluetooth.
However there are differences. NFC consumes significantly less power than Bluetooth with only one device actually needed power and does not require pairing. These are considered to be the two biggest drawbacks of Bluetooth as they eat up a lot of battery when in use and the pairing process can cause some considerable frustration. Connection to a NFC device is effectively instantaneous, taking less than a tenth of a second, although the speed in which it transfers data is much slower and with a range of only 20cm it will never replace Bluetooth headsets.
So what uses will it have?
Apart from what Bluetooth already offers, the main buzz of excitement comes from the idea of contactless payment, or basically swiping your phone over a compatible pay point to pay for your shopping. Some Mastercard credit cards already allow this as they are embedded with an NFC chip. With the use of Google Wallet you can use your phone as your credit card. This may be very useful in the public transport sector for cutting queues as people won’t be scrabbling for small change, a simple swipe and you’re on the Bus; I’d assume this would also lead to buses and trains running on time! In London it’s possible to pay for your fare via Smart Posters. These are like normal posters except they contain a NFC chip allowing communication with your phone.
Another use is the idea of NFC Smart Tags. These tags are unpowered devices that communicate to your phone via the NFC connection and give it certain instructions. For example you may have one for your car and when you enter your car the NFC tag will tell your phone to turn on its GPS setting and open a navigation program. Stick a chip in anything and prefix it with smart, viola SmartCurtains® which will open and close when you hold your phone close to them. They could also be used as business cards, simple place one in your pocket and when you meet a client your details will be transferred over to their phone instantly,
just avoid walking around London at peak hours!
Security will obviously be a big issue with the idea that a simple swipe of your phone could wipe out your bank balance if someone steals it to buy a 3D TV. You would have to protect your phone with pin numbers and other safeguards to ensure that if your phone was stolen it couldn’t be used for payments. People may also be worried about ‘accidentally’ paying for items! The range of NFC is very small, as stated before it’s close to 20cm so you’d have to be both: be very close to the pay point and the pay point is ready to take a payment.
It is still early days and the technology is still maturing. I’ve yet to see many shops allowing you pay via NFC, although there is one that surprised me. Gregg’s the baker up until 2 years ago only accepted cash payments, and then all of a sudden they not only allow card payments but also payment via NFC! It was a quantum leap in terms of payment options, try it next time you’re buying a steak bake.
Currently only a few high end phones allow NFC communication with the notable exception of any iPhone model. A few phones that you can find here that are NFC enabled are:
- Samsung Galaxy S II,
- Samsung Nexus S,
- Samsung Nexus Galaxy,
- Blackberry Bold 9900.
Apple’s next iPhone is strongly rumoured to be NFC capable and I can only assume that when this next iteration comes out NFC will explode into something you’ll see everyday!