World Wide Tech & Science. Francisco De Jesús.
Berg Insight research says: NFC phone sales to reach 100 million in 2012.
Near-field Communication (NFC) technology enables data to be exchanged wirelessly over distances of a few centimeters, meaning mobile phones can be used to pay for goods, store electronic tickets, download music and swap photos and business cards.
In a research Berg Insight said 100 million cellphones using (NFC) will be sold this year.
Handset vendors released more than 40 NFC-enabled models in 2011, hoping to tap emerging market for mobile payments.
Berg Insight said it expects the global market for NFC phones to grow to 700 million phones in 2016 from 30 million in 2011.
NXP Semiconductor is the leading manufacturer of NFC chips, while also Inside Secure has won some deals.
What is NFC?
Near Field Communication (NFC) technology makes life easier and more convenient for consumers around the world by making it simpler to make transactions, exchange digital content, and connect electronic devices with a touch.
A standards-based connectivity technology, NFC harmonizes today's diverse contactless technologies, enabling current and future solutions in areas such as:
- Access control
- Consumer electronics
- Healthcare
- Information collection and exchange
- Loyalty and coupons
- Payments
- Transport
Developers can learn more about NFC in the section on interoperability.
Key Benefits of NFC
NFC provides a range of benefits to consumers and businesses, such as:
- Intuitive: NFC interactions require no more than a simple touch
- Versatile: NFC is ideally suited to the broadest range of industries, environments, and uses
- Open and standards-based: The underlying layers of NFC technology follow universally implemented ISO, ECMA, and ETSI standards
- Technology-enabling: NFC facilitates fast and simple setup of wireless technologies, such as Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, etc.)
- Inherently secure: NFC transmissions are short range (from a touch to a few centimeters)
- Interoperable: NFC works with existing contactless card technologies
- Security-ready: NFC has built-in capabilities to support secure applications
