Near Field Communication

NFC is a technology that allows for any kind of data exchange between two devices that support it, as long as they are within close distance of each other.

While there are few practical uses, yet (as of November 2011), in the United States it is becoming more popular as a way to make payments, at retailers and groceries.

There are a number of popular smartphones on the market that have NFC chips, and by adding their credit card details, users can just wave their device at a reader and pay for their goods.

NFC chips were originally created by Sony and NXP Semi in 2002.

Outside of paying for goods, NFC can also be used to share contacts, photos, music, Android applications, URLs, electronic business cards and as a way to jump into a 2-player game with someone else who has an NFC device.