The future that Near Field Communications (NFC) promises is nothing short of astounding. However, the obstacles lying in the path of that future are just as great. NFC is honestly nothing new; as a technology, NFC has been around since 2004. In 2005, Cingular (now AT&T) installed NFC point of sale readers as a test in Philips Arena in Atlanta. They were confident that by 2010, over half of the wireless phones in the US would support NFC. Today, there are but a handful.
It's only in the recent past that NFC became something of a hot topic. As to why, I can't help but think that it has something to do with money. Mobile payments will be the driving force behind NFC adoption in Europe and North America. The other uses of NFC - Bluetooth pairing, smartcards, file sharing - just aren't important enough to design into a smartphone for the masses. At best, the features would seem gimmicky; at worst, unnecessary.
But paying for food; clothing; and Wal-Mart with your phone may very well become a thing. A great deal of the hardware required to do this is already in place; it's all thanks to that little chip that might be in your credit card right now.
CrackBerry.com's feed sponsored by ShopCrackBerry.com. Near Field Communication - what is it and why should I care?
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