NFC (Near-field communication) has, for a while, been one of those pieces of technology that has promised so much, yet delivered very little. With Android flagship devices holding a greater share of the market, most will have access to NFC, but many won't realise it, or just couldn't care less. After all, what do people use it for? (This is in terms of mobile phone use of course - 'touch to pay' has begun to slowly take shape.) It's technology that has been mooted as useful in many situations, yet most either don't know what it is, or simply do not use it.
However, we might be seeing a shift. In the last 24hrs I've seen two marketing uses of NFC for public consumption, one on the train and the other on an electronic billboard. In a similar way to the deployment of QR codes, NFC technology appears to be enabled via a patch or sticker. This is true of the Metro who are encouraging passers-by to tap in via NFC to collect their online metro. It's also been seen on South West trains to provide tailored offers to travelers on a specific train line:
Ignore the fact that this link is utterly pointless because it goes to a - as yet - undeveloped site, the technology works well, and could be used to great effect.
Obviously this is *still* early days, but with clever investment it may not be long until NFC is integrated into our everyday lives. iPhone users can not say 'why do I want NFC' any longer (and I see the latest rejection of NFC by Apple as foolish, and completely inexplicable). By 2014, many will be asking the question 'has this phone got NFC?' before deciding to purchase.
Disagree? Is it all just hype, and not leading anywhere? Feel free to comment below.
No comments :
Post a Comment