Sunday, March 21, 2004
Philips, Nokia & Sony working on NFC Wireless Standard
Posted by Jonathon Watkins in "NEWS" @ 11:00 AM
There's an old saying: "The nice thing about standards is that you have so many to choose from; furthermore, if you do not like any of them, you can just wait for next year's model." Well, when it comes to wireless standardsfor PDAs, we have a plethora of options including various flavours of 3G, CDMA, GSM, Wifi, BlueTooth etc. :?
The BBC reports that "Help is at hand for gadget fans tired of struggling to get their different devices talking to each other. Philips, Nokia and Sony are banding together to create a basic technology that will help gadgets automatically connect with each other. Near Field Communications helps gadgets work out the best way to swap data when they are brought within a few centimetres of each other. The first products using the technology are expected by the end of the year."
"It was not intended to replace Bluetooth and other radio technologies instead it should help people make better use of them. He said NFC was a standard way of identifying devices and describing what they can do. Simply putting two NFC devices together will get them talking to find out how they can swap data. Once they have negotiated the best way to swap data, the information will be transferred. NFC is expected to be used in phones, PDAs, laptops as well as PCs, kiosks in train stations and airports and many other places. It could be used to quickly transfer electronic tickets or vouchers to phones or PDAs or just to help people move music files from a PC to a portable player."
There's more information in this News.com story. "NFC will allow data to be transferred over a wireless spectrum at 13.56MHz. Devices such as mobile phones, digital cameras, handhelds or personal computers will be able to "talk" within a range of 20 centimeters and at speeds of up to 212kbps. Gadgets using the new wireless technology will be compatible with Philips' Mifare and Sony's Felica smart card technologies, the companies said, allowing consumers to buy items with their devices."
However, this part caught my eye: "One characteristic that sets NFC apart is that it needs no "permission" before making a connection between devices, he said. Bluetooth, on the other hand, pings a device to see if it wants to connect before going through with the coupling." Lets be careful out there folks! :twisted:
So to sum up, NFC is similar to Bluetooth, but this new standard is meant to coexist with existing wireless technologies and is aimed at allowing consumers to transfer data and pay for services. I do hope my PDA in 2005 comes with at least five wireless standards on board, or I simply won't be keeping up with the connected crowd. :helpme: They'd better come up with finding a way to transfer battery power wirelessly, or we'll be in trouble. :wink: "Yes, I can stay connected to every wireless standard in existence for up to 10 minutes, until my 2000 mAh battery runs out." :lol:
The BBC reports that "Help is at hand for gadget fans tired of struggling to get their different devices talking to each other. Philips, Nokia and Sony are banding together to create a basic technology that will help gadgets automatically connect with each other. Near Field Communications helps gadgets work out the best way to swap data when they are brought within a few centimetres of each other. The first products using the technology are expected by the end of the year."
"It was not intended to replace Bluetooth and other radio technologies instead it should help people make better use of them. He said NFC was a standard way of identifying devices and describing what they can do. Simply putting two NFC devices together will get them talking to find out how they can swap data. Once they have negotiated the best way to swap data, the information will be transferred. NFC is expected to be used in phones, PDAs, laptops as well as PCs, kiosks in train stations and airports and many other places. It could be used to quickly transfer electronic tickets or vouchers to phones or PDAs or just to help people move music files from a PC to a portable player."
There's more information in this News.com story. "NFC will allow data to be transferred over a wireless spectrum at 13.56MHz. Devices such as mobile phones, digital cameras, handhelds or personal computers will be able to "talk" within a range of 20 centimeters and at speeds of up to 212kbps. Gadgets using the new wireless technology will be compatible with Philips' Mifare and Sony's Felica smart card technologies, the companies said, allowing consumers to buy items with their devices."
However, this part caught my eye: "One characteristic that sets NFC apart is that it needs no "permission" before making a connection between devices, he said. Bluetooth, on the other hand, pings a device to see if it wants to connect before going through with the coupling." Lets be careful out there folks! :twisted:
So to sum up, NFC is similar to Bluetooth, but this new standard is meant to coexist with existing wireless technologies and is aimed at allowing consumers to transfer data and pay for services. I do hope my PDA in 2005 comes with at least five wireless standards on board, or I simply won't be keeping up with the connected crowd. :helpme: They'd better come up with finding a way to transfer battery power wirelessly, or we'll be in trouble. :wink: "Yes, I can stay connected to every wireless standard in existence for up to 10 minutes, until my 2000 mAh battery runs out." :lol:
