Near field communication (NFC) technology has received a significant update this week, as device to device communication has now opened up a whole new world of possibilities.
Previously, the NFC that was existing would allow for communications between a passive device and an active device, which meant that it could be used for transactions at a point of sale, such as for purchases made at a checkout desk in a store. For example, when credit card data has been stored in a smartphone or tablet device using the right app, and a properly equipped checkout terminal is available, a payment transaction can be made.
This recent upgrade, called the Simple NDEF Exchange Protocol, permits NFC enabled devices to actively communicate back and forth with one another. This ability makes it possible for a much larger number of actions to occur through the use of mobile devices.
For instance, a high definition computer or television that is equipped with NFC technology would be able to communicate with a smartphone or tablet that was also equipped with NFC, allowing the user to view a video that had been recorded on the larger-screen device.
Other applications can also benefit from this new NFC upgrade, such as games. A game could be designed in a way that in order to reach the next level of play, the device would need to communicate with another NFC-enabled smartphone or tablet.
Even business contacts will be able to benefit from having smartphones that are NFC-equipped, as they will be able to exchange their contact information without actually tapping phones together.