5 Möglichkeiten, wie die NFC-Technologie Ihre Welt erschüttern könnte

Smartphones sind nicht mehr nur schicke mobile Geräte, mit denen Sie E-Mails versenden und im Internet surfen können. Ein modernes Smartphone hat mehr Rechenleistung als alle Computer, die der NASA im Jahr 1969 zur Verfügung standen, als die Vereinigten Staaten zum ersten Mal auf dem Mond landeten [Quelle: PC Mag ]. Obwohl Sie Ihr Telefon wahrscheinlich nicht in absehbarer Zeit verwenden werden, um Ihren eigenen Mondlander zu steuern, wird es dank der NFC-Technologie (Nahfeldkommunikation) wahrscheinlich alle möglichen anderen raffinierten Dinge tun, wie z. B. das Ersetzen Ihrer Brieftasche .

Die Schönheit und Nützlichkeit von NFC – einem drahtlosen Kommunikationsstandard mit kurzer Reichweite – lässt sich in drei Hauptzwecken zusammenfassen: Teilen, Koppeln und Transaktionen. NFC kann Ihr Telefon in eine digitale Brieftasche verwandeln, ein Hauptschlüssel für alles von Ihrem Haus bis zu Ihrem Auto werden oder als Regierungs- oder Unternehmensausweis dienen. Und das ist nur für den Anfang. Schauen Sie sich eine ganze Reihe anderer raffinierter Anwendungen in der weitläufigen Infografik von NFC Rumor an .

Die Möglichkeiten der NFC-Technologie sind nur durch die Vorstellungskraft cleverer Ingenieure und Programmierer begrenzt. Und aufgrund seiner enormen Einsatzmöglichkeiten beginnt die Revolution mit Ihrem Telefon.

Mit diesen winzigen Chips bewaffnet, sind Smartphones dabei, vom schlauen zum geradezu hirnlosen Status aufzusteigen. Derzeit verfügen nur etwa 34 Millionen Telefone über NFC, aber einige Experten glauben, dass diese Zahl 2012 die 100-Millionen-Marke überschreiten wird [Quelle: USA Today ]. Lesen Sie weiter und Sie werden sehen, wie NFC-Telefone und andere Gadgets Ihr technologiegetriebenes Leben verändern können.

1. NFC zahlt sich aus
2. Data Grabbing Goodness
3. Chips sind gut für Ihre Gesundheit
4. Ein legendärer digitaler Schlosser
5. Ihr freundlicher Netzwerkvermittler

Werfen Sie Ihr Bargeld in den Müll und schneiden Sie jede Kreditkarte in winzige Stücke. Mit NFC wird Ihr Smartphone zum Geldautomaten und Kreditgerät in einem. Anstatt Bargeld zu zählen oder eine Karte zu ziehen, winken Sie einfach mit Ihrem Telefon an einem Zahlungskiosk, um eine Transaktion abzuschließen, und erhalten eine E-Mail-Quittung anstelle einer Papierquittung.

Of all of the capabilities that NFC may bring to fruition, payment options are perhaps the likeliest to emerge soon. Executives at Google actually expect NFC smartphones to account for about 50 percent of the phone marketplace by 2014 [source: Popular Science], which would likely benefit its Google Wallet application. Google Wallet is a smartphone app that lets you wave your phone at a properly-equipped point-of-sale register to pay for all kinds of goods and services.

Other credit card companies and wireless service providers are working on similar systems to compete with Google. And it's that competition and lack of standardization, along with a lack of NFC-capable checkout systems at your local stores, that may delay the deployment of widespread NFC payment options.

Still, some pundits, including those at Juniper Research, expect that NFC transactions will hit around $50 billion by 2014 [source: Retail Merchandiser]. So be ready – your days of lugging around multiple plastic cards and a wad of paper money might just be numbered.

The chips and tags that an NFC-capable phone can read are so tiny that they could eventually be ubiquitous, embedded in everything from posters in movie theaters and schools to real estate signs, and much more. These so-called infotags or smart tags will offer up all sorts of information to anyone who waves a smartphone at them.

At a movie theater, patrons could touch their phones to a poster for an intriguing film and be instantly directly to an online trailer. Or at school, students could use their phones to grab updated information on schedules and announcements.

Strolling by a home that's for sale? Wiggle your phone at the real estate company's sign and your phone immediately brings up all pertinent sales information on that house, including a video tour of the interior.

The chips work even in places more of more permanent residence. A system called Personal Rosetta Stone that lets cemetery visitors pull information from chip-laden headstones to read the life stories and obituaries of the deceased [source: Rosetta Stone].

There are thousands of other applications for this technology, and smartphones will help drive the proliferation of NFC. But suffice it to say, your smartphone will only find more and more ways to gather information from your tech-saturated environment, no matter where on Earth you might be.

Don't let anyone tell you that chips are bad for you. When it comes to your health care, NFC tags and the smart devices that can read them may help make health care data more accurate, more efficient and safer for patients and their caregivers.

Forget the clunky, inefficient ER rooms of the past. Now, patients could check into medical facilities using their phones, tap their prescription bottles for all instructions and side effects for a specific medication and make payments for services and products.

Medical professionals can use their NFC phones to access secure areas, scan patient tags to ensure that each person is receiving appropriate medicine and care, and automatically receive updates on when to check that patient again.

And thanks to the quick spread of smartphones throughout the developing world, health workers can better identify patients and track specific ailments, both of which help improve patient referral, emergency response, and disease data collection. In an age where health authorities fear pandemics, NFC could put health workers ahead of their bacterial and viral foes.

You may get much better personal care, too. The more data your doctor collects on your environmental exposure and your body's idiosyncrasies, the more likely you'll receive accurate diagnoses. A company named Gentag makes diagnostic skin tags that are affixed directly to the patient. These tags can monitor temperature, glucose levels or ultraviolet light exposure and then send pertinent health information directly to a smartphone.

So really, chips really are good for you. NFC devices could save many lives, including yours, and improve the quality of life for people all over the globe.

You already know that your smartphone can replace your wayward billboard. It can also help you do away with your keys and security cards.

You don't really need a key to get into your car. Nor do you need that jagged bit of metal and plastic for engine ignition. All you really need is permission. And your NFC smartphone might soon be able to give you that permission. Just wave your phone to unlock your car; then tap the dash to fire up the engine.

When you arrive at work, you don't need to show your ID badge to a security guard. You don't even need your badge anymore, because your phone tells the NFC access point exactly who you are and unlocks the door for you .

Then, when arrive at home from a long day at the office you won't need to dig through your purse for your keys. Your phone will unlock your apartment or house door so that you can waltz in without even the need to twist a key.

As with all such technologies, there are indeed security concerns galore with NFC. It won't hurt you to do some reading before you recycle your keys (and credit cards ) for good.

So although many of the first uses of NFC will likely apply to intangible digital payments, these examples show how NFC can grant access to all sorts of real physical places. You'll have few items to carry with you, too -- just don't lose your smartphone in the couch cushions.

You already know that NFC is good for sharing and transactions. It's also a handy way to quickly pair two devices so that they can exchange information via higher-speed networks, and in this sense, NFC could be heaven-sent, doing away with convoluted encryption schemes and long-winded, clunky passwords.

For example, if you and your co-worker are stranded at an airport and want to play a team racing game on your smartphones, you won't have to deal with a tedious configuration process. Instead, you can just tap your phones, and the NFC connection will authenticate your phones and let you immediately share a faster type of connection, such as Bluetooth or WiFi .

Want to print a photo that's on your phone? Tap your smartphone to an NFC inkjet printer and you can quickly start the print job. Or skip the printer and place your phone right next to your smart HDTV, and watch as your images appear on the screen without the need to set up a connection.

Now you know some of the ways that NFC might just live up to its hype in the next few years. While you're anxiously awaiting these marvelous new technologies, you can stay up to date on the latest NFC news and speculation at NFC Rumors.com, which details the many products and services that will put the power of NFC to use.

You can also jump into the fray and find an NFC -capable phone using this handy list. These phones might be your first taste of a wireless standard that will likely wow you and millions of others with its capabilities for a long time to come.

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