Prompted by a post over in the Kickstarter thread about a device bringing NFC to the iPhone...

Why?

From a technical standpoint, is there anything that NFC does that can't be done with a QR code? Or maybe a bluetooth connection for things like sharing playlists (do people actually do that, in real life, by the way?)

The mobile payment system sounds alright in theory, but isn't using geolocation info from your phone taking it to the next obvious level so that even a mundane task like swiping your phone across a payment area would be unnecessary?

Admittedly I am far from an expert in all things NFC, but unless I'm completely missing something major, it seems like it's a dud technology and will quickly die off in the next several years. What am I not seeing here?

10/24/2012 8:58:35 PM

Better than the AFC this year

10/24/2012 9:05:06 PM

Sharing files on BT is a pain, at the least it could make paring more simple

10/24/2012 9:12:58 PM

Honestly I've only used NFC a couple of times. All occurred when my friend and I who both own nexus 7 devices were sharing content bad and forth.

And it's pretty fucking magical. I have to admit, if NFC becomes a standard device feature on phones and tablets, there is a whole shit ton of really useful things to do with it. As it stands today, so few devices have it that its left to pretty gimmicky uses.

10/24/2012 9:22:42 PM

most nfc implementations are extremely insecure. the thing that makes it so powerful is how quickly it negotiates a connection and transfers data. that's also the weak point (kinda like RFID). I put a replacement battery in my phone that specifically does not allow the nfc antenna to work.

10/24/2012 10:08:41 PM

it's pretty gimmicky for the most part, but you can do some neat stuff with it

http://m.samsung.com/us/microsite/tectile/

10/24/2012 10:27:10 PM

hah, the most interesting use case in the above link is the tectile foursquare check-in.

10/24/2012 10:35:11 PM

I give 0 shits about NFC

10/24/2012 10:41:39 PM

If it were secure and ubiquitous, it would be a nice wallet replacement. Just tap your phone at checkouts and vending machines and whatnot

10/24/2012 10:42:27 PM

As soon as an iPhone has NFC people will be talking about how revolutionary it is

10/24/2012 11:06:17 PM

That's because if Apple ever adds it, they'll find something cool to do with it.

10/24/2012 11:08:34 PM

So I was the one who posted the link to this: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/flomio/flojack-nfc-for-ipad-and-iphone which is what El Nacho is referencing. It's a project by some friends I went through TechStars with.

I don't know a single person who uses QR codes. To go one step further I can't imagine a single person who would rather use their phone to scan QR code than just tap their phone against something.

One thing they talked about during the program was the mountains of loyalty cards that NFC is absolutely perfect for displacing. On my key ring alone, I've got Food Lion, Kroger, Lowes, CVS, and my gym membership. On top of that, I've got a Harris Teeter one I always need to give my phone number for along with a Ruckus punchcard in my wallet. All of these things could be done with a tap of my phone against a sensor.

10/25/2012 12:28:23 AM

Quote :

"I don't know a single person who uses QR codes."

Right, I didn't mean to imply that QR codes were superior in any way, just that they were basically the same idea, which is to say gimmicky and shitty. I agree swiping your phone is easier than opening a camera app, but that's the only advantage I can see between the two.

As far as the rewards cards, NFC might be good for that, but if you look at something like Passbook on the iPhone, I don't see why that isn't just as good or better. You can have it pop up scannable loyalty card barcodes directly to the lock screen right when you walk through the door of an establishment. At a place like Starbucks you can do all your ordering and payment right on the phone and the loyalty information is built right in. All without the need for the stores to install new NFC scanning hardware.

10/25/2012 8:36:24 AM

Because you still have to open the Passbook app and find the store you want ... NFC literally doesn't require you to do anything but tap your phone.

10/25/2012 9:04:00 AM

and then sit there for ten minutes while they try to get the scanner to work on your shiny phone screen

10/25/2012 9:20:33 AM

10/25/2012 9:26:23 AM

hahaha, awesome

10/25/2012 9:47:02 AM

^^Hah, his expression/response is solid.

10/25/2012 10:04:45 AM

Quote :

"Because you still have to open the Passbook app and find the store you want ... NFC literally doesn't require you to do anything but tap your phone."

Nope, it uses geofencing to automatically pull up the card of the store you walk into without you having to open anything. As I said, it just shows up on your lock screen as you walk through the door.

^^^

I saw that commercial this morning during SportsCenter. It made me wonder how close to real life that depiction is. Is it really possible to have it set to transfer one video (the kids') on the first scan, and then another one on the second without further input? It couldn't possibly be actually transferring the videos in the time shown unless they were very short clips, right? Is it just transferring a (cloud based?) link to the videos? Is the transfer time being artificially sped up for the purposes of the commercial?

I'm assuming the text at the bottom might answer my questions if it weren't light text on a light background and on screen for more than 1/3rd of a second.

10/25/2012 12:29:16 PM

Sounds like it uses NFC to connect, then transfers via Wi-Fi Direct...which appears to be pretty damn speedy (see video below)

"Wi-Fi Direct, previously known as Wi-Fi P2P, is a standard that allows Wi-Fi devices to connect to each other without the need for a wireless access point.[2] This allows Wi-Fi Direct devices to directly transfer data between each other with greatly reduced setup. Wi-Fi Direct works by embedding a limited wireless access point into the devices, and using Wi-Fi Protected Setup system to negotiate a link. Setup generally consists of bringing two Wi-Fi Direct devices together and then triggering a "pairing" between them, using a button on one of the devices, or systems such as NFC."

10/25/2012 12:47:55 PM

Top comment from that ad video

Quote :

"Her video is so intense, it made his seat? belt disappear for a few seconds."

10/25/2012 3:17:26 PM

Or it just NFC transfers a link to google drive.

10/25/2012 10:53:28 PM

Quote :

"I don't know a single person who uses QR codes."

i use QR codes all the time for when i find something on my computer that i want/need to open/download on my phone...it's a lot easier to use a QR code then email myself the link (and then open it on my phone) or type it in

furthermore, we put out information packets to existing clients that frequently require them to submit information back to us on our portal...so we include QR codes on those packets and from the stats i'm looking at, they're used almost a third of the time to submit the information we need

i realize that these two things are not especially common, but QR codes DO have some value

10/26/2012 12:01:42 PM

I hate QR codes myself. BUt they do have value.

I just wish phones could process them near-instantly and there were good, free apps to read them.

10/26/2012 3:31:00 PM

I do use NFC with Google wallet to pay for things. Pretty freakin awesome

10/29/2012 12:10:22 AM

Quote :

"I just wish phones could process them near-instantly and there were good, free apps to read them."

it takes, like, half a second on my phone...and there are many free apps that read them

i think i use qr droid, but maybe it's barcode scanner...in any case, it's easy, free, and flawless...what sort of problems are you having with the apps?

10/29/2012 7:04:36 AM

Apple doesn't have NFC? What a useless technology. /s

The popular use of NFC right now is in cars. Swipe one NFC when you get in to: turn off WiFi, turn on GPS, turn on Bluetooth -> connect to car, start Nav, start a playlist. Swipe another NFC to turn all of that off and go back to normal phone mode. Also just saw that there's scripts for saving your parking place with NFC, I guess it remembers the GPS coordinates when you tap that tag.

You can do the same thing with home use. Put a NFC tag next to your surround sound system and get your music playing immediately.

Saw another use where people put a tag on their watch or keychain so they can bypass their phone's PIN for easy unlocking. Then there's the Google Wallet use coming, but I haven't read up on that at all.

Personally, I don't use them because SmartActions does most of this stuff already for me...not sure if Apple has that either.

http://tagsfordroid.com/

[Edited on October 29, 2012 at 8:42 AM. Reason : asdf]

10/29/2012 8:40:16 AM

you COULD use hardware to do all that

or you could go for a much more elegant approach -
https://www.onx.ms/#!landingPage

10/29/2012 9:27:16 AM

People always say that phones and tablets with metal backs interfere with NFC, even manufacturers say this is the case.

Why can't they do NFC through the screen instead?

[Edited on October 30, 2012 at 3:49 PM. Reason : ]

10/30/2012 3:48:42 PM

Car -> Wifi off, start GPS/MyTracks, Open Spotify

Office -> Wifi On, Stop My Tracks/Disable GPS, Sync Bluetooth Speakers (if I had them)

The keychain tag to bypass lockscreen is genius as long as it's a simple option evading me to allow NFC while the phone is locked. I hate typing my PIN. Another I heard of was to put one on your dog's collar that starts mytracks so you can track your walks/jogs. And/Or provide some Lost+Found information.

Also I think https://lockitron.com/preorder is compatible with NFC.

[Edited on October 30, 2012 at 4:22 PM. Reason : ]

10/30/2012 4:20:08 PM

About to buy some tags to play around with NFC for Windows Phone

11/5/2012 9:23:32 PM

Coolest use of NFC so far:

http://designtaxi.com/news/360323/McDonald-s-Introduces-Happy-Table-Play-Games-By-Tapping-Your-Phone/










Bravo! Very creative.



[Edited on August 30, 2013 at 11:26 AM. Reason : .]

8/30/2013 11:23:48 AM