iPhone 5 May Unlock and Start Your Car – and More
NFC is the new big thing in mobile. No, I’m not referring to the National Football Conference of the NFL here in the States, but rather Near-field Communication. Much like RFID – another acronym for Radio Frequency Identification – NFC will allow devices to pass information to a near-by reader.
Google already employs this in its mobile operating system Android, as does Nokia in a handful of its handsets (see image). The most commonly used technology used for NFC is in fact that other lesser-known acronym, RFID. Found in key fobs for “Pay Pass” as well as Google phones to your passport, RFID has become the standard hardware for NFC. While many have become concerned with RFIDs security vulnerabilities, manufacturers have taken to it like crack due to its affordability and its it-just-works aspect. While reports have already floated around between job offers at Apple and rumors of NFC devices being tested in the field by the iCompany, what Apple will choose is not clear.
One thing is clear, however: NFC is the next big thing.
With its heavy use in social media from services such as Google’s Lattitude, FaceBook’s Places, to foursquare and Gowalla, all which basically are employing NFC, we have seen just how popular this technology is already in its infancy.
