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Wireless Alliance Touts 'Magic Touch' RFID Tech
An anonymous reader writes "Nokia, Sony and Philips have launched a new wireless technology, called Near Field Communication, that could be a threat to Bluetooth. Based on RFID, they say it will enable electronic devices to interact -- for m-commerce, file-swapping or to download info from the Web -- when touched together."
Of course, unless they're very careful, it will also enable devices to communicate when they're within a couple of feet. Still, as long as the software folk treat it as "always chatting" communication, and build in the proper safeguards, rather than assuming that every conversation is spawned by a dedicated request to speak, things should be fine. This will be fun to watch.
You're special forces then? That's great! I just love your olympics!
Good touch? Or bad touch?
... Shouldn't the radio part of that imply wireless? If they have to be touched, that to me just seems like having wires. Albiet really short ones, but you get the idea.
But really... radio-frequency identification
WWJD.... for a Klondike bar?
the article doesn't make clear what (if any) advantage this system posesses over bluetooth?
Is this product announcement just capitalising on negative bluetooth security publicity and the RFID buzzword, or is there more to it than that?
As bluetooth is already in millions of devices, it seems churlish to ignore this.
SURELY NOT!!!!!
>RFID, they say it will enable electronic devices >to interact -- for m-commerce, file-swapping or >to download info from the Web -- when touched >together."
It's a good idea. Imagine trading business cards with a handshake. Of course, it is likely to become more popular for kids trading files. If security is lax in these devices the old chestnut of computer viruses being transmitted by touch may become a reality.
So, with a very sensitive receivers you might be able to eavesdrop at maybe twice the intended distance but that will be about it.
So, instead of pushing a button to automatically sync our devices, we'll just touch them. oh, ok, that's just lightyears ahead of anything we could *ever* do today...
Besides not having a damn thing to do with being a problem for bluetooth or wifi (do submitters read the articles? i thought we just didn't...) how is waving my phone at a movie poster going to buy me a ticket? Am i going to end up buying a bunch of cars, jackets and vietnamese girls when i walk downtown and go buy some food at a market? Sounds like i'll really have to configure it, go through a few dialogue boxes perhaps and do the usual thang i do today, as far as electronic device convenience goes. not to mention, it's not like anyone will ever have the proper convergence/convenience to actually make it doable to wave your phone at more than a few places and have it do something useful.
For these things to work as advertised they're going to need to saturate the shit out of the market, so businesses will want to use them *everywhere*. They'll need to come with everything, cheaply I think, for it to become some easy to use super gadget opportunity.
WIll that happen? probably not. Perhaps it will be tied in greatly with home elctronics, and personal gadgets, but it will probably be nowhere as ubiquitous (ubi..ubu...ubo...damn) as credit cards, and i doubt it will bridge the gap from bluetooth+ that it looks like it will reside in to super convenience.
- I'd prefer not to.
They also claim the technology will revolutionise the way people interact with their environment.
...or they could just wave their NFC phone at a smart film poster to automatically buy a ticket.
Blabitty bla bla. Show me the flying cars and renewable energy sources. Until then, I'll interact with my environment how and when I want to.
Great! Shorter lines at the movie theatre. You all go waive your phones at inanimate objects. I'll go talk to a real person. What about checking for the age of the ticket purchaser? oh yeah, your soon to be mandatory government ID will have that info in an RFID tag as well.
Alternatively, it could help a user to use their mobile phone as an e-wallet.
wonderfull! now a theif can just waive my wallet in front of a smart billboard and buy anything he wants? need two forms of RFID for that purchase? lucky him, he just stole my cellphone too.
yeah yeah, you say i have a nice origami tinfoil hat on. But what exactly are these "innovations" doing for society? It's cool that this stuff can technically be done. It doesn't mean it should permeate our entire daily lives.
From the story submission: "called Near Field Communication, that could be a threat to Bluetooth."
From the article: "NFC won't replace Bluetooth or infrared."
way to go editors! way to go A.C. who submitted the story! jeebus, if people could be honest, truthfull and accountable this world would be such a better place.