Near Field Commu nication With the introduction of Android 2
3, we now have the ability to work with special tags using Near Field Communications (NFC)
NFC tags are similar to Radio Frequency ID tags (RFID) except that the range for NFC is less than four inches
This means the sensor in the Android device must come very close to the tag to be scanned
NFC tags can be programmed to give out text information, URIs and metadata, such as the language of the information
Note that NFC is not a new technology, and has been used in other parts of the world for years
In fact, in several countries, point of sale terminals that read NFC tags are quite common
When these terminals detect an NFC tag, the shopper can complete the financial transaction using an account linked to their NFC tag ID