Quote:
Originally Posted by ProfCrash
What is NFC? I am clueless
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NFC means Near Field Communications. Functionally, it is a wireless communication system that is VERY short range. Think of Cell phones being 3 miles, wifi being 300 ft, bluetooth is 33 ft, and NFC is 3mm.
There are Credit cards that have NFC chips built in them. When at a cash register, you tap the card (not swipe) against the debit/credit card reader, and the transaction is processed. The credit card transfers its information wirelessly to the credit card reader, rather than via swiping. Mastercard has been using the technology for a couple years (in the U.S.), under the brand "PayPass". In Utah, it seems that 90% of the Paypass capable credit card machines seem to be in 7-11 convenience stores, although some Home Depots and other stores have them now (there is an Android app that shows all locations where paypass machines are installed). The light rail trains and buses in Utah are also Paypass capable.
There are cellphones now that have the NFC chip built in the back. My Galaxy Nexus (Android) phone has it - I buy a pepsi nearly every day at 7-11 using my phone. The nice thing about my phone, is that my NFC chip that is associated with a Paypass Mastercard prepaid card requires me to enter a PIN to use it, making it a bit more secure than the regular Mastercard with NFC chip.
I have read of other people with phones like mine, who have a purchased 10 or 20 NFC tags. They program the tag, and put it by their bed, on their night stand. Then, when they go to bed, they tap their NFC capable phone to the NFC tag on their nightstand, and the phone realizes where it is, and then executes a pre-programmed script - setting the phone into night mode, setting the alarm clock, turning off alerts for emails etc.
Now, imagine a NFC tag either in a book binding (they cost about $1 retail) or on a label next to a stack of books in a B&N store. You just tap your Nook against the book, and the Nook will pull up the book on the store app of your Nook - with a BUY button very clearly labelled. No messing with cameras/QR codes/scanning software the way that cellphones do right now.
The galaxy nexus phones can communicate with each other using their NFC chips - holding one phone against the other phone, and business card information, pictures, or other information is easily transferred.
Nooks could be programmed the same way.
There is a big future in NFC, and I would be excited to have one in my Nook!