5 Great uses of NFC Technology

NFC (Near Field Communication) is multiplying into a feature that almost every smartphone comes embedded with. This wireless radio communication technology that allows users to use tags with their smartphones when close enough, is of great use when pairing and transfering data from one device to another – all in just new a simple tap and with no need for cables.

We have occasionally written on How to know if your phone is NFC powered, and How NFC Tap and Go works.

Advertisement - Continue reading below

We now avail to you a selection of great uses of this technology, and explain to you how valuable it is to the next generation of smart devices.

Start up your PC

If a technology doesn’t make you lazy, then make the best of use in it. With just an NFC tag, you can use your Android device to wake up a Windows PC without pressing a button.

To do this, you have to open up the Windows Network and Sharing Center on your PC, click Change adapter settings. Select for Properties of your primary internet connection. Click the Configure button, and go on to the Advanced tab, look out for the “Wake on Magic Packet” option. Set it to Enabled.

After setting up the PC, you’ll need some apps to take you through the process much easily. WoL (Wake on LAN) for prompting the start up, Tasker for configuring the NFC tag, and an NFC Task Launcher – like Trigger – to complete the tag.

After downloading and installing the Wake on LAN app, open it and add a new device. Choose the name you want to use for the computer and fill in the MAC and IP addresses, after which you should save.

Advertisement - Continue reading below

Attach the NFC tag to your computer and use the Tasker app to configure it’s presence. Add a new action to the task by selecting a plugin and choose the correct PC in Wake on LAN. Ensure that the app is accessible to all other programs by setting the preferences to allow external access.

Finally, install the NFC Task launcher and create a new NFC task, and add it to task. This should enable you to scan the tag to write the profile to it.

With all rightfully set, you can go ahead and wake up your PC using your phone by just sitting it on the tag.

Cashless Payment of bills

Quick Tap is utilising the tech to do the business of delivering secure, easy, fast and efficient payments and access to control services. They install NFC tap to pay terminals at the client premises which users with NFC devices such as phones, cards, wristbands, and stickers can tap to make payment or access premises.

That’s the best of examples on how to use NFC to clear your bills without cash

Faster device pairing

With most high end smart phones now supporting the short range communication, one can use NFC to quickly connect two devices close to each other in less than one tenth of a second – using inductive coupling.  They can then shift the signal on to Bluetooth so that the device holders can move any further without breaking the connection. This can be for file transfer, for linkage, or even compatibility.

Advertisement - Continue reading below

Share files, apps and contacts

NFC lets you share almost everything with your friends via their NFC-powered devices. Whereas it’s as easy as that, Sharing apps allows the user access to the app’s Play Store page for downloading.

Sharing a contact prompts the receiver about which account to create the new contact in and the contact info will be displayed in Contacts app.

Link with tags

With the Trigger app we listed above, you can be guaranteed of a link to almost every tag out there.  Just make a simple contact between your device and the tag. This tag could be your door lock, your music player, your light switch, name it.

Yes, and the innovation is endless. DS Automobiles recently launched the very first contactless payment car key, which allows you to clear bills without handing over the paper.

Image: Visa PayWave

Advertisement - Continue reading below

LIKE WHAT YOU ARE READING?

Sign up to our Newsletter for expert advice and tips of how to get the most out of your Tech Gadgets

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.