I don't know when to start, It has become the standard configuration of Android flagship phones, and more and more manufacturers have begun to add NFC functions to their devices. Of course, NFC is not limited to Android manufacturers, and the WP camp has begun to add this feature. But for ordinary users, what is NFC? What can I do? Is it worth paying more for the hardware? This article will break through the fog and learn more about NFC.

What is NFC?

Near field communication (English: Near Field Communication, NFC), also known as short distance wireless communication , is a short distance high-frequency wireless communication technology, which allows non-contact point-to-point data transmission between electronic devices, exchanging data within ten centimeters (3.9 inches). This technology consists of contactless radio frequency identification（ ）It is developed by Philips and Sony and is based on RFID and interconnection technology. Near field communication is a short-range high-frequency radio technology, operating at 13.56MHz within 20cm. Its transmission speed can be 106 Kbit/s, 212 Kbit/s or 424 Kbit/s. At present, near-field communication has passed the ISO/IEC IS 18092 international standard, EMCA-340 standard and ETSI TS 102 190 standard. NFC adopts active and passive reading modes. (From Wikipedia near field communication entry)

When it comes to NFC, we have to mention RFID. You may be unfamiliar with RFID, but it has surrounded us. Food cards, bus cards, access cards and other cards that you can use to pay or do other things with a touch all use RFID. RFID cards can be as small as a coin, or they can exchange data several meters away. I believe you will see some automatic payment channels at the highway toll station, right? This also belongs to RFID technology. NFC is a short-range data transmission technology suitable for electronic devices (mobile phones, tablets, etc.), which is developed from RFID. It can be turned into an RFID card, or a card reader, or even two devices can exchange data close to each other. After reading the concept, we will introduce some practical examples of NFC.

NFC Mobile Payment

NFC is now widely known as a mobile payment application. NFC was once called the revolution of mobile payment, but now it seems to be less successful, not only because merchants and users don't buy it, but also because of system security and other issues. However, this is just the beginning, and the future is unknown, but the future payment will become more simple, intelligent and secure.

Google Wallet is a relatively complete NFC payment system at present. Users can "swipe" the mobile phone payment at the supported merchants after installing the corresponding app on the Android phone that supports NFC functions and binding the credit card. But like all mobile payment technologies, users don't buy it.

The domestic market is a bit chaotic. The three major operators choose RFID SIM to realize mobile payment. They use a SIM card with a special chip to turn a mobile phone into an RFID card, which has the advantage of no device support. However, there are also disadvantages. Only the RFID card swiping function can be realized, and the data exchange and card reading functions between mobile phones cannot be realized. In addition, the mobile phone must be on to swipe the card. The frequency is 2.45G, not 13.56M. There have been many practical applications. Most urban public transport payment systems have provided the RFID SIM version, such as mobile phone Shenzhen Tong, Tianyi Yangcheng Tong, and Unicom mobile phone all-in-one card. UnionPay has taken the NFC direction, and cooperated with mobile phone manufacturers to promote smart phones with UnionPay NFC built-in. At present, Mobile has also begun to test NFC.

Now that we talk about using RFID SIM to realize mobile payment, let's also talk about another mobile payment specification: Felica. This technology has been carried forward in Japan, and has reached all ideal applications earlier than NFC: access control, public transportation, mobile payment, and mobile phone transmission. Most Japanese mobile phones have a built-in Felica mobile version.

The FeliCa chip used in mobile phones is called Mobile FeliCa IC Chip, which was developed by FeliCa Networks, a joint venture between Sony and NTT DoCoMo.
In July 2004, the mobile phones using FeliCa chips began to go on sale. Because of the FeliCa chip, the mobile phone can be used as Eddy or Suica (Mobile Suica). NTT DoCoMo has identified the trademark of the wallet phone as a service mark before the service using Mobile FeliCa Chip started on the road. The Mobile FeliCa chip was first manufactured by Sony. Later, the Mobile FeliCa chip was publicly joined by Toshiba and Renesa in May 2006, and was jointly supplied by the three companies. This new generation of Mobile FeliCa chip has increased capacity and enhanced communication functions. Mobile phones using such chips were released in October 2006.
“iMode FeliCa”（NTT DoCoMo）
“EZ FeliCa”（au by KDDI）
"S! FeliCa (formerly Vodafone! FeliCa）”（Softbank Mobile）

Because of the special mobile market in Japan, Felica has achieved good coverage and application in Japan, but like most Japanese technologies, it is not acclimatized to foreign countries. The old version of Shenzhen Unicom and Hong Kong Octopus also used the Felica specification, which has also been replaced in recent years.

NFC's Convenient Life

Remember the ads for the Nexus S and Galaxy Nexus? Open the phone book, two NFC enabled mobile phones are back-to-back, touch the screen gently, and the business card is transferred. But Android Beam is more powerful now. In addition to transferring business cards, it can also transfer applications, photos, web addresses, etc. In some supported applications, such as the four dimensional microblog client on Android, the touch of two mobile phones can enable the client of the other to display its own personal page. NFC's transmission rate is low. How does Android Beam achieve image transmission? The answer is Bluetooth. Two mobile phones will pair quickly after touching, and then start to exchange data. Nokia has also launched Bluetooth headsets that can be quickly paired through NFC. NFC is not a substitute for Bluetooth. It can be said that it complements each other. NFC solves the pairing problem of Bluetooth and cannot transmit conveniently. Bluetooth solves the problem of slow communication speed and short transmission distance of NFC.

NFC can also query the balance of the bus card and turn it into an access card and other functions. Some functions will be gradually realized in the future, but how long will it take to reach the application level of Felica in Japan?

Finally, we have to mention the wonderful Japanese system. Japan has found a middle solution: infrared ray, two mobile phones facing the back, one can open the acceptance mode, and the other can send. Similarly, you can also transfer business cards and small-scale photos. It can also be used to control TV sets, projectors and other equipment.

Is NFC far from integrating into life?

At present, NFC has a long way to go in order to integrate into life and facilitate life. NFC is not a mature technology at present, and there are many existing problems, too many to allow NFC to be used in mobile payment.

Each company has its own standard, and most of the technology cannot be powerful because of this problem. Can Google Wallet's account be used on UnionPay's mobile payment terminal cash register? Can UnionPay Quick Pass be used in mobile wallet terminals? Each giant is going in its own direction. It is unrealistic to want NFC to carry forward and make life convenient. It is hoped that a complete NFC mobile payment standard will emerge, so that NFC can be better used in real life.

NFC has another important issue: security. Security is a problem that every payment method has to face: the magnetic stripe card will be copied, so the IC card with higher security performance will be replaced; Paper money will be forged, so we began to look for other more secure payment methods. NFC has been promoted as a new payment method, but the security problem has been ignored. For example, for Android applications, I believe that most Android users choose root. Who will protect the security of NFC payment after root? If Google chooses to ban root, will users be more dissatisfied? Security is also the main reason why people choose different mobile payment directions. I hope NFC can make a major breakthrough in security.

The future of NFC?

As for whether NFC should be included in the decision factors for selecting mobile phones mentioned at the beginning of the article, I want to answer whether it should be. NFC technology has a long way to go. It needs to have unified standards and solve security problems. If there is still some hope in exchanging business cards, can the share of NFC mobile phones still not impress users? However, as a new technology, NFC is still supported by all parties, and the market is optimistic about it.

Learn more about new cool devices, stay tuned