Chicago (IL) - Yesterday, Qualcomm announced it is providing several reference chipsets which include NFC (Near Field Communication), a system operating in the 13.56 MHz band, capable of transferring data up to 424 Kbps over extremely short distances -- typically 4 inches or less. The idea is to provide cell phones with a way to interact with merchants for mostly currently undefined applications, but those which include checkout, ordering, personal identification, and so on.
NFC could be thought of as an extremely close-up form of Bluetooth. Whereas Bluetooth allows for transmissions of up to about 30 feet at much higher speeds (2.1 MB/s) with several-second sync times, NFC is a physical proximity communications that is nearly instant-on with less than 100 ms sync times (1/10th second). NFC is compatible with RFID technology, allowing the potential of a wide range of in-store uses, such as product gathering, unique identification and other RFID-related applications.
A potential downside of NFC security is this: although its range is effectively only a few inches, a larger antenna could pick up an active NFC EM emission from a meter or more away -- meaning devices could be setup in aisles, walkways or corridors to pick up data from random passer-bys. With 100ms sync times, in less time than it takes to walk by, the entire contents of NFC-stored data could be probed, scanned and possibly downloaded. How much information such an effort would be able to actually obtain from NFC-enabled devices is a matter of debate, though NFC is ISO 14443 compliant, which means it has a response protocol structure it must obey that could result in such a breach of security or privacy.
Giant consumer restaurant McDonald's is already offering coupons, as well as order-aide tools using this type of RFID technology in cell phones in both Japan and Korea -- though current implementations require more work on behalf of the user due to the physical plug-in nature of supporting devices. Future versions, however, will enable the phone to handle everything internally, automatically receiving the restaurant's updated menu as they walk through the entry way. And then, while in line, the consumer can choose their order, transmit it to the store so that when they arrive at the counter not only is the transaction already paid for by the user's NFC-provided Visa or MasterCard account, but the food is also ready and they simply grab it and exit the line.
Additional NFC-enabled chipset makers include: Nokia, LG, Samsung, Motorola and Benq.
See Qualcomm's press release.
NFC could be thought of as an extremely close-up form of Bluetooth. Whereas Bluetooth allows for transmissions of up to about 30 feet at much higher speeds (2.1 MB/s) with several-second sync times, NFC is a physical proximity communications that is nearly instant-on with less than 100 ms sync times (1/10th second). NFC is compatible with RFID technology, allowing the potential of a wide range of in-store uses, such as product gathering, unique identification and other RFID-related applications.
A potential downside of NFC security is this: although its range is effectively only a few inches, a larger antenna could pick up an active NFC EM emission from a meter or more away -- meaning devices could be setup in aisles, walkways or corridors to pick up data from random passer-bys. With 100ms sync times, in less time than it takes to walk by, the entire contents of NFC-stored data could be probed, scanned and possibly downloaded. How much information such an effort would be able to actually obtain from NFC-enabled devices is a matter of debate, though NFC is ISO 14443 compliant, which means it has a response protocol structure it must obey that could result in such a breach of security or privacy.
Giant consumer restaurant McDonald's is already offering coupons, as well as order-aide tools using this type of RFID technology in cell phones in both Japan and Korea -- though current implementations require more work on behalf of the user due to the physical plug-in nature of supporting devices. Future versions, however, will enable the phone to handle everything internally, automatically receiving the restaurant's updated menu as they walk through the entry way. And then, while in line, the consumer can choose their order, transmit it to the store so that when they arrive at the counter not only is the transaction already paid for by the user's NFC-provided Visa or MasterCard account, but the food is also ready and they simply grab it and exit the line.
Additional NFC-enabled chipset makers include: Nokia, LG, Samsung, Motorola and Benq.
See Qualcomm's press release.
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