Introduction

“There’s no need to wander around the room bumping your phone into others,” said Craig Federighi, senior vice president of software engineering, digging into Android using mobile phones. Why? Because Google has equipped its Android with a technology that allows users to share content between mobiles simply by swiping! This technology is called Near a communication field and this article will tell you why it’s a game changer much to the chagrin of Monsieur Federighi!

What is NFC?

Near Field Communication or its famous abbreviation NFC is the transmission of data between devices that are physically close to each other. It goes without saying that they must be NFC-enabled. NFC is a branch of the Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) protocol that uses (wireless) electromagnetic fields to configure the transfer of data between devices.

The benefit of this is that one can have their NFC-enabled device close to another NFC-enabled entity to communicate. Companies like Samsung have coined a cool term “bump”, although users don’t necessarily need to bump their devices!

A look at history

To establish a standard wireless communication path between mobile devices, Sony, Nokia, and Philips joined forces to form the NFC protocol in 2004. They also established strict guidelines for hardware manufacturers who wanted to include NFC in their phones. These include inter-device compatibility regardless of NFC subscription brand, protocol security, compatibility with other wireless technologies, and intra-NFC transmissions.

Outstanding Features

The following points distinguish NFC from other wireless communication standards:

  • Based on RFID operating at 13.56 MHz
  • Effective at a range of 10 cm
  • Allows data speeds of up to 424kb/second
  • Sports an intuitive user interface
  • Allows other proprietary wireless networking platforms to interoperate

These features are largely responsible for the popular use of NFC in various facets of mobility.

Benefits

The characteristics of NFC translate into benefits that are unparalleled by other wireless data transfer technologies. Some of the benefits are listed for your understanding:

  • Versatile: NFC is supported for use in the widest range of industries, environments, and genres.
  • Intuitive: Most NFC interactions can be accomplished with a simple touch.
  • technology enablement: With NFC wireless technologies such as Bluetooth, Wi-Fi makes setup quick and easy.
  • interoperable: NFC is compatible with existing contactless card technologies.
  • security ready: NFC is equipped with capabilities to support secure applications. The short range of communication negates any purging or hacking.
  • standards based: NFC’s DNA has incorporated ISO, ECMA and ETSI standards to illustrate its compliance.

These benefits facilitate ease of use and a healthy user experience.

conclusion

Well, the excitement this technology exhumes isn’t exactly complete until you read the next article. You may want to know how the magic of NFC works, especially in the daily life of you and me. Watch out for the next installation!