Quick Intro to NFC

As I’ve recently added blog posts on Mobile Payments, Apple Pay, Android Pay and Samsung Pay – all which use NFC – I thought I’d add a post for NFC itself.

What is NFC?

Firstly, NFC is Near Field Communication – a technology more catchily known as NFC.

Here’s the Wikipedia techie info “NFC employs electromagnetic induction between two loop antennae when NFC devices – for example a ‘smart phone’ and a ‘smart poster’ – to exchange information, operating within the globally available unlicensed radio frequency ISM band of 13.56 MHz on ISO/IEC 18000-3 air interface and at rates ranging from 106 kbit/s to 424 kbit/s.”

In the real world, that means NFC is technology used in ‘Tap and go’ or ‘Proximity card’ services – including Apple Pay, Android Pay and Samsung Pay, plus many other services.

NFC is a method of wireless data transfer between two enabled devices that are in close proximity (about 10 cms) An NFC-enabled device will detect another NFC-enabled device and data can then be transferred between the two devices.

NFC is a power-efficient technology, as it uses chips which run on very low amounts of power.

Uses for NFC

Mobile Payments, used in Apple Pay, Android Pay, Samsung Pay
Used in Android Beam and S-Beam technologies – where it bootstraps a more capable connection, such as Bluetooth and/or wifi
Microsoft’s Windows Phone will enable Microsoft Payments in Windows 10, using NFC
Sharing contacts, files etc between devices
Potential for electronic identity and access
Can be used with NFC tags or stickers, to automate tasks on mobile devices
Used in some video games

More Info

Pat came to Composed to respond to our (increasingly urgent) need of QA on mobile and web and I can testify he more than fulfilled the task. On the Android side, his very structured approach (first exploratory testing, then focus on defining test plans for a variety of scopes) and his clear knowledge of the latest mobile technologies have quickly paid off. He was involved directly with the developers (including myself) and this very dynamic relationship enabled us to annihilate bugs swiftly and efficiently.

David Ferrand, Android Developer, Composed

Pat Walsh fixed my site within hours of my contacting him – his WordPress website fix service clearly works!

Douglas Green, Douglas Software

Pat performs comprehensive website testing for us, across all the main browsers and platforms, including mobile devices. His flexible approach to testing and clear feedback enable us to have confidence that the business end of our website is still working smoothly after system updates and changes.

Steve Liu, Manager, Wicked Lasers

Pat is an excellent one-stop-shop for testing Apps and Websites. He is a self-starter who just knows what needs to be done and gets on with it, and is responsive to requests for any specific testing requirements. He provides test plans and reports as a matter of course and was a pleasure to work with. I will definitely be working with Pat again if the opportunity arises.

Andrew Birley, PM, Storythings

Pat has been absolutely incredible at testing each of our projects he works on. He’s very professional, organised and diligent. I look forward to using him again in the future.

Oliver Thurtle, Director of Technology, Drum

We’ve worked with Pat Walsh on a number of very different projects, from interactive video projects to mobile apps. His work is very thorough and has quickly become an essential and important phase of all the production work we do at Storythings. He’s thorough, diligent, and a pleasure to work with.

Matt Locke, Director, Storythings

Couldn’t recommend Pat highly enough. He goes beyond what you’d expect of a QA tester, commenting more broadly on user experience and even design. He’s quick, efficient and thorough – couldn’t ask for any more.

Rob Calvert, Director, Click

Pat Walsh provided Kingston Valdes with a professional and personable service that was excellent value. The site was built and tested quickly, we are delighted with the results, and we have already had positive feedback from some of our clients. If you’re thinking of building a new site or adapting an existing one, I’d certainly recommend speaking with Pat about it.

Kathy Valdes, Kingston Valdes

We hired Pat to help with QA of a music streaming app. We needed someone with that magic “6th sense” of where the bugs are lurking; the ones which developers tend to miss. Pat more than fulfilled this need, with highly methodical approach and a great eye for detail.

Subsequently Pat has provided QA services for a personal app project of mine, finding a significant issue which had been lurking for some time.

Pat is a real asset to any team – highly competent technically but also easy going and a great guy to work with. Highly recommended!

Andrew Ebling, Head of App Development, Composed

Quick Intro to NFC