Near Field Communication to put the world in your pocket!

If you thought Bluetooth made mobile sharing easier, think again! Think NFC! Near Field Communication is the next big thing in wireless sharing. This interesting technology gets very close to putting ‘the world in your pocket’. Yes, with NFC, your mobile or any other portable device would serve as pretty much everything – credit card, access control card, airline ticket and even as your own personal health monitor.

Though contactless or proximity cards are already around, their reach isn’t very vast and brining NFC to mobiles and other similar platforms will definitely up the usage. NFC cannot be labeled a ‘new’ technology, as Nokia has been active in this line since 2004. Along with Philips and Sony, it has founded the NFC Forum. Participation of 130 countries in this forum clearly signals that NFC is set become a way of life in the years to come.

The essence of NFC is short-range wireless communication that is both safe and effective. The maximum distance is about 20cms, which ensures that no unauthorized communication takes place. It scores over various shortcomings of Bluetooth such as high power consumption and security concerns. This form of communications also works when one of the devices is not powered.

For a pair of devices to communicate, one of them needs to have an NFC reader/writer and the other one an NFC tag. An NFC tag consists of integrated circuitry containing the information that is to be exchanged. Connection can be established by touching the devices together or by a simple waving motion. For instance, a Wi-Fi connection can be established by touching your phone to a router.

The Forum aims to build an NFC ecosystem which is like a platform that incorporates all possible walks of life into the spectrum of NFC’s capabilities. You can use your NFC enabled phone to pay bills, shop, book tickets, exchange phone numbers, business cards, synchronize calendars and keep track of your health. You can download songs or videos from a smart poster by just touching your phone to it. The N-mark trademark developed by the Forum is to serve as the universal identification symbol for all NFC enabled devices.

Large scale implementation of this technology does not necessarily mean you have to trash your non-NFC enabled gadgets as much of the initial phases will be built on existing systems. If indeed all this touching and waving becomes the order of the day, you can put a sticker that’s actually an NFC tag onto your phone to make sure you stay in the circuit. As the electronic age progresses, there’s no saying whether people will still be touchy-feely sometimes, but at least our phones will be!

Nikhila

Nikhila is a gadget lover and passionate writer. She likes to keep up with social media and Internet culture in particular while staying updated about all latest gizmos. Nikhila is a mechanical engineer-turning-into-technical-writer. Bibliophile, Grammar Nazi, dog lover, foodie, casual artist.

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