What is NFC?

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Near Field Communication (NFC) is a set of standards for smartphones and similar devices to establish radiocommunication with each other by touching them together or bringing them into close proximity, usually no more than a few centimeters. Present and anticipated applications include contactless transactions, data exchange, and simplified setup of more complex communications such as Wi-Fi. Communication is also possible between an NFC device and an unpowered NFC chip, called a "tag".

NFC standards cover communications protocols and data exchange formats, and are based on existing radio-frequency identification (RFID) standards including ISO/IEC 14443 and FeliCa.The standards include ISO/IEC 18092 and those defined by the NFC Forum, which was founded in 2004 by Nokia, Philips and Sony, and now has more than 160 members. The Forum also promotes NFC and certifies device compliance.

NFC builds upon RFID systems by allowing two-way communication between endpoints, where earlier systems such as contactless smart cards were one-way only. Since unpowered NFC "tags" can also be read by NFC devices, it is also capable of replacing earlier one-way applications.

NFC devices can be used in contactless payment systems, similar to those currently used in credit cards and electronic ticketsmartcards, and allow mobile payment to replace or supplement these systems. For example, Google Wallet allows consumers to store credit card and store loyalty card information in a virtual wallet and then use an NFC-enabled device at terminals that also accept MasterCard PayPass transactions. Germany, Austria, Finland, New Zealand, and Italy have trialed NFC ticketing systems for public transport, while China has brought it into service on buses across the country. India is implementing NFC based transactions in box offices for ticketing purposes.

NFC offers a low-speed connection with extremely simple setup, and can be used to bootstrap more capable wireless connections. For example, the Android Beam software uses NFC to automatically complete the steps of enabling, pairing and establishing a Bluetooth connection when doing a file transfer. Nokia has used NFC technology to pair Bluetooth headsets and speakers with one tap in its NFC-enabled devices. The same principle can be applied to the configuration of Wi-Fi networks.

NFC can be used in social networking situations, such as sharing contacts, photos, videos or files, and entering multiplayer mobile games.

The NFC Forum promotes the potential for NFC-enabled devices to act as electronic identity documents and keycards. As NFC has a short range and supports encryption, it may be more suitable than earlier, less private RFID systems.

Smartphones equipped with NFC can be paired with NFC tags or stickers which can be programmed by NFC apps to automate tasks. This can allow for a change of phone settings, a text to be created and sent, an app to be launched, or any number of commands to be executed, limited only by the NFC app and other apps on the smartphone. This is perhaps one of the most practical current uses for NFC since it does not rely on a company or manufacture but can be utilized immediately by anyone anywhere with an NFC equipped smartphone and an NFC tag. 

More info on NFC Via LifeHacker