What is NFC? NFC in the phone - what is it? NFC technology

At the moment in the mobile industry there are various concepts that many have never even heard of. Therefore, it is quite natural there is a need to understand some of the nuances. So, if you came to the question of what is NFC, then you had to face in some way the mention of this concept somewhere. It is necessary to understand it in as much detail as possible.

NFC (Near Field Communication) is a technology for high-quality wireless communication with a short range of no more than 10 centimeters, which allows non-contact data exchange between a pair of devices nearby: for example, between a plastic smart card or cell phone and a reading terminal . The NFC technology is based on RFID (Radio Frequency IDentification). This is radio frequency identification, which is a method of determining objects in automatic mode. In this case, a radio signal is used to record and read data stored in transponders, often referred to as NFC tags. In general, we can say that this is a technology for transmitting information through a radio channel that supports active and passive devices. For example, the Sony NFC charms do not need some extra power to ensure their work, they do it completely passively.

Technology features

So, if we talk about what NFC is, then we should consider the three most popular applications of this technology in mobile phones:

- Reading mode, in which the phone reads a passive tag, for example, for interactive advertising;

- card emulation, in which the gadget is able to "pretend" a card, for example, payment or a pass;

- P2P mode, in which two phones are interfaced for data exchange.

More often than not, NFC technology suggests that the mobile phone is a mobile phone, which is a mass device, as well as an individual one, and at the same time it is completely inseparable with its owner. In this case, it can be used as a means of payment, which is acceptable in the presence of a virtual wallet, a key, a means to identify the owner, a ticket, a bonus card and much more.

Scope of application

So, NFC in the phone - what is it? Answering this question, it is worth noting that at the moment such solutions have become more and more widely used in many areas. For example, by means of this technology, electronic tickets are booked and sold, car parking and public transport paid. Very actively NFC-tags are used in the spheres of entertainment and services, in the field of security and access control.

Unlike Bluetooth

These two technologies are similar in principle to the action, but there is a very big difference between them. If we consider what is NFC, then it should be noted that the main advantage of this technology is a short connection time, which is one tenth of a second. A small radius of action makes this method of data transmission much more secure. However, the NFC supports a data transfer rate of 424 Kbps, which is much lower than that of Bluetooth.

The current stage of development

Contactless payment technologies are now very advanced, and this has led to the appearance of cards such as MasterCard PayPass and Visa PayWave, which have built-in antennas, and they feature the NFC feature. This market has become so developed that now companies such as MasterCard, Google, Sprint, Citibank and First Data have formed a service called Google Wallet, installed on a number of Android smartphones. With this application, you can easily turn your gadget into a credit card that allows you to pay in any terminal that works with PayPass support.

What is NFC and how are labels used?

The tags in this case are small programmable information zones, embedded in billboards, billboards or on shelves with products in retail stores. If you touch any of them, you can get some additional information in the form of web addresses, maps or movie commercials.

The process of working with labels requires a certain sequence of actions to obtain the information embedded in them.

What you need to do to scan labels

First, make sure that the NFC feature in the phone is turned on and its screen is active. The phone should be placed above the label in such a way that it touches the NFC detection zone. Next, your device will scan the label, and after that will show the content received from it. You need to touch the contents, and then you open the label.

How to transfer a music file using NFC

First, you need to make sure that the necessary function in your phone and the recipient's device is turned on, and both gadget screens are active. You can open the music player by going to the main screen, where the item "Multimedia" is selected, and after it the "Music" icon. If the latter is not displayed, then touch the "Application screen" icon, and after it - "Music". To open the library, you need to visit the "My Music" tab. After selecting a music category, you can go to the selection of a track that will be sent to a friendly device. You should touch it to play it, and then click on the pause. Broadcasting occurs only when the track is played or paused.

The transmitting and receiving telephones must be turned by the reverse sides to each other so that they have contacting the NFC recognition zones. When the connection is established, both devices vibrate, and then the broadcast begins. After vibration, the apparatus should be separated from each other. This prevents you from trying to reconnect, which can interfere with the transfer process. When the process is completed, the receiving phone will start playing the received file automatically. At the same time, the track will be saved in the corresponding application.

Important points

So, if we talk about what is NFC, then we should say about the presence of certain moments, which can be called the "dark side" of this technology. With the help of NFC it is possible to facilitate the solution of many everyday tasks, sometimes it makes life much more difficult, if you look at it from the point of view of security. This technology works only at close range. If you do not use NFC then for complete protection and security, you can disable it. In this case, all its convenience simply disappears, but it allows you to use other methods. It all depends on the individual settings of the smartphone. If you use the device as a mobile wallet, but do not protect it with anything, you may well have problems. Even PIN protection works, unfortunately, not always when there is an NFC in the phone. What it is - it becomes clear when an attacker takes advantage of your carelessness.

It is worthwhile to imagine such a scenario as the loss of a phone or its theft. Then the person who found or stole it can use all payments and functions. However, here it is worthwhile to be a realist, because you can lose the keys to an apartment or a car or a wallet, which is fraught with the same danger. That is, NFC is as safe as the user decides.

The first devices

NFC support first appeared on the Nokia 6131 phone , released in 2006. However, such a function was completely useless and unclaimed, since at that time there was no infrastructure. The NFC module is currently equipped with a serial smartphone Sony Xperia S. This device is equipped with a dual-core processor and a 43-inch HD screen. It operates under the operating system from Google. Android-NFC is no different from a similar function in other platforms. This machine contains two NFC tags called XPERIA SmartTags, which allow you to program certain operations in the device in the range of their operation, for example, turning on the navigator or turning off Wi-Fi.

Intel has already dealt with issues related to the integration of NFC chips in the next-generation ultrabooks, and only this can be a guarantee that this technology has a great future.

The origin of the future

So, if we consider NFC technology (how to use it - it is already a little understandable), then it is worth to say about whom or what it owes its appearance. In 2002, companies such as Sony and Phillips merged to develop a completely new radio standard, which was given the name. Previously, attempts were made to form technologies of this kind: Phillips created MIFARE technology, and Sony had a similar development called FeliCa. While these technologies had a lot in common, they proved to be incompatible with each other. The created standard was designed to take all the advantages of past developments, as well as to open the possibilities for its application in practice.

Speaking of what NFC is, it is necessary to mention that since its inception and development this technology has been oriented to the interaction between different electronic devices, between which there is no wire connection. As examples, it is appropriate to specify personal computers, PDAs, mobile phones, video cameras, as well as other gadgets.

We can say about such a peculiarity of the interaction of devices working with the support of this technology, as the rapid initiation of communication between devices after they are presented to each other at a sufficiently close distance. After the connection is established, an attempt is immediately made to transfer data between the devices.

For example, if you hold a working camera to the TV, provided that the NFC module is working in both gadgets, the process of image transmission will begin immediately. If the mobile phone or PDA is in the immediate vicinity of the personal computer, this will immediately start synchronizing the address book or some other documents.

Method of implementation and development prospects

The NFC technology is implemented in the form of a chip operating in the passive or active mode. The first option involves using the device as a pass or a subway map, and the second is obtaining information from passive devices, as well as sending it. At the moment, one can observe the not very intensive spread of this technology, but everything is ready to conquer the world. Companies like Google and Apple are betting on it. You can already hear about the iPhone NFC, that is, the products from Apple began to add these chips. There are even sim cards with a built-in chip that can only work in passive mode.

In modern society, there are very bright prospects for using this technology for the purpose of using mobile devices for contactless payments. It is possible that in a few years, one smartphone will replace the user a number of devices and devices.