NFC morphs the wallet and the mobile phone
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Article Summary
The mobile phone is taking society by storm. Currently, one third of all the people on the planet carry a mobile phone, just a quarter century after its introduction. In just over three years time, we’ll pass the half way mark, and we expect the world will be a very different place a decade from now as the mobile phone takes on ever more remarkable qualities and function. And with sales of mobiles heading for the one billion a year, mobile phones are heading for ubiquity. Although more and more features are packed in every year, the mobile phone is still a long way from achieving its full potential. In tomorrow’s world, things we do every day, like paying at the till, buying a ticket for the bus or entering competitions, will all go through your mobile phone…using NFC technology. NFC stands for ‘near field communication’, a short-range wireless connectivity technology that enables two peripheral devices to exchange data via radiofrequency 13.56 MHz @ 424 Kbps) – i.e. without physical contact – over short distances of up to 5m. NFC technology has been approved as an ISO, ECMA and ETSI standard.Sagem is already trialing this exciting technology in Europe and would like to keep you abreast of the possibilities. NFC is not a new technology, and certain underground rail systems have already implemented it via contactless rail passes to offer seamless walk-through travel rather than turnstiles, making the system quicker and more convenient. However, when NFC is built into mobile phones, it adds the humble wallet to the convergence mix, and at the rate we're going, our personal identities might become incomplete if we're not "carrying"
