New partnership could ignite a promising future for mobile commerce
The NFC Forum, a non-profit industry association that promotes standards for NFC technology, has announced that it has formed a liaison partnership with the Bluetooth Special Interest Group, a trade association focused on Bluetooth technology. The partnership will allow the two organizations to work more closely together in the future, potentially collaborating on projects concerning the use of NFC and Bluetooth technology. Both of these technologies have become quite popular in the mobile space, especially where commerce is concerned.
NFC and Bluetooth continue to gain momentum
NFC technology has been a fundamental tool in the mobile commerce sector for several years. The technology helped bring mobile commerce into the global limelight by facilitating payments from mobile devices. The problem, however, is that NFC-based mobile commerce platforms can only be used by NFC-enabled devices, which are not yet abundant in the global market. This is one of the reasons that some companies have for focusing more heavily on Bluetooth technology for their mobile commerce ventures. Bluetooth is very accessible for most consumers, making mobile commerce platforms that use the technology more available to a wider range of people.
1 billion NFC-enabled devices to be deployed by 2016
The NFC Forum notes that approximately 400 million NFC-enabled devices have been deployed throughout the world this year. This number is expected to reach 1 billion by 2016. The organization suggests that the increasing popularity of NFC technology in the mobile sector is a sign that it should begin working more closely with the Bluetooth Special Interest Group. Together, the two organizations may be able to promote both technologies as tools for mobile commerce and eliminate any unnecessary competition that may emerge within the mobile sector.
Bluetooth may replace NFC in the future
Bluetooth technology is becoming a popular alternative to NFC technology, especially for companies that have security concerns when it comes to mobile commerce. In the past, NFC has been criticized for its lack of security features and the fact that it can be exploited by hackers with relative ease. Bluetooth technology is not immune to malicious attacks, of course, but it is an older technology that has seen more development attention over the years.
