NFC technology(abbreviation for Near Field Communication) allows you to exchange data between your smartphone and other NFC-enabled Android phones using the Android Beam feature. Main feature This technology has a short range of action (up to 10 cm), allowing contactless data exchange between devices located at short distances: for example, between a reading terminal and cell phone or a plastic smart card. For example, you can transfer web addresses, map positions, Google Play Market applications and contacts to other Android phones. Among other things, it is possible to exchange photos, music and videos between phones Sony Xperia. As a user of a smartphone of this line, I will tell you using his example. Although other companies producing high-tech products are also actively involved in the development and implementation of NFC: Google, Intel, Samsung, Nokia, Visa, MasterCard, Citigroup, Barclaycard and others.

I use NFC in my smartphone for quick synchronization with Sony MDR-1RBT bluetooth headphones or wireless sound system Sony SRSBTM8. If you have never used NFC, you can activate this function on your smartphone and attach your metro pass to see information about it on the smartphone display. In order not to confuse you, it is worth noting that NFC has a significant advantage over Bluetooth - fast connection setup time. That is, instead of the process of “pairing” 2 devices when using Bluetooth, a connection between two NFC devices is established immediately (in less than 1/10 of a second), but data (for example, an audio stream in Bluetooth headphones) will still be transmitted via Bluetooth. To avoid the lengthy "pairing" process, NFC is only used to establish connections in wireless technologies such as Bluetooth.

As you already understood, as a “carrier” of the NFC chip mobile phone(smartphone) was not chosen by chance, since the device is widespread and is always close to its owner. The latest trend in the NFC field has been the parallel development of services based on smart cards and mobile devices:

Both of the above options provide the ability to build a universal NFC ecosystem, where a smart card or smartphone with an integrated NFC chip turns into multi-purpose devices, acting as:

• means of payment (virtual wallet)
• owner identification means
• bonus card
• ticket

The NFC chip can contain large amounts of data, encrypting it if necessary. Currently, NFC solutions are already used in many areas. For example, using this technology, booking and sales are carried out electronic tickets, payment for travel on public transport and car parking, NFC technology is also actively used in the services and entertainment sectors. By analyzing the capabilities of NFC, we can confidently predict its potential demand in the field of security and access control.

Contactless infrastructure and contactless payments are already quite well developed in the public transport system, and are quickly emerging in other industries. Telecom operators, mobile device manufacturers, the banking sector and other payment systems are increasingly seeking to use contactless payments.

The most common device in the world that can fully unleash the full potential of NFC technology is undoubtedly a mobile phone. In combination with NFC, it is able to combine all the functionality of options and services that the use of smart cards can provide.

Perhaps today the widespread use of NFC seems futuristic, but in the very near future this technology will firmly enter our lives - just like Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, USB.

Into existing functionality Sony smartphones c NFC technology also includes the ability to scan an NFC tag. NFC tags are small programmable information zones that can be used in shopping and advertising areas: built into posters, all kinds of billboards, as well as on product shelves in retail stores. By touching the tag, you can get additional information: maps, web addresses, and trailers.

NFC function activated when two devices supporting this technology come into contact. The maximum reading distance is about 1cm, which avoids false alarm functions.

How to transfer a file using NFC technology? (using the example of Xperia P)

Transfer a contact to another phone from using NFC

1. To view contacts on your phone, go to home screen Tap the App Screens icon, then tap the Contacts icon.
2. Select the contact you want to send.
3. Position the sending and receiving phones rear parts to each other so that their NFC recognition zones touch. Once the connection is established, the phones will vibrate and a short beep will sound. A thumbnail of the contact appears.
4. Once the transfer is complete, the contact information will be saved on the receiving phone and displayed on its screen.

Transfer a music file to another phone using NFC

1. Make sure that NFC and Android Beam are enabled on both phones and that the screens on both phones are active.
2. To open your Walkman™ player, go to home screen, tap the Apps screen icon, and then select WALKMAN.
3. Go to the tab MY MUSIC to open your media library.
4. Select a music category and find the track you want to share.
5. Tap a track to play it. You can then tap the Pause icon to pause the track. Transfer is possible while the track is playing or paused.
6. Place your phone and the receiving phone with their backs facing each other so that their NFC recognition areas are touching. Once the connection is established, the phones will vibrate and a short beep will sound. A thumbnail of the track will appear.
7. Tap the thumbnail to start transferring.
8. Once the transfer is complete, the receiving phone will automatically start playing the music file. At the same time, the file will be saved on the receiving phone.

Note. Copyrighted items may not be able to be copied, posted or transmitted.

Transfer a photo or video to another phone using NFC

1. Make sure that NFC and Android Beam are enabled on both phones and that the screens on both phones are active.
2. To view photos and videos stored on your phone, go to home screen, tap the Apps screen icon, then select Album.
3. Touch desired photo or video recordings.
4. Place the sending and receiving phones with their backs facing each other so that their NFC recognition zones touch. Once the connection is established, the phones will vibrate and a short beep will sound. A thumbnail of the photo or video appears.
5. Tap the thumbnail to start transferring.
6. Once the transfer is complete, the photo or video will be displayed on the screen of the receiving phone. At the same time, the object will be saved on the receiving phone.

Transfer a web address to another phone using NFC

1. Make sure that NFC and Android Beam are enabled on both phones and that the screens on both phones are active.
2. Tap the Apps screen icon on home screen.
3. To open a web browser, select Browser.
4. Load the web page you want to transfer.
5. Place the sending and receiving phones with their backs facing each other so that their NFC recognition zones touch. Once the connection is established, the phones will vibrate and a short beep will sound. A thumbnail of the web page appears.
6. Tap the thumbnail to start transferring.
7. Once the transfer is complete, the web page will be displayed on the receiving phone's screen.

The combination “NFC” (Near field communication) is increasingly found in the specifications of modern smartphones and tablets. In this article we will try to consider this interface from the point of view of practical use, so that readers can independently draw their own conclusion about the need to have it on their phone.

In testing, we used two smartphone models that have already been reviewed in detail on our resource: Acer CloudMobile S500 and Sony Xperia acro S. We would also like to point out that most of the information, including the described programs and usage scenarios, will only apply to smartphones running Android based. It is this operating system that is today the most “friendly” when it comes to working with NFC.

Introduction

At first glance, it may seem that numerous wireless interfaces today already cover all possible popular tasks and scenarios, so another option is simply not needed. However, if you look at the development modern technologies, then you can see that more and more attention is being paid to energy consumption issues, especially when it comes to mobile devices X. In particular, version 4.0 of the well-known family of Bluetooth protocols is precisely aimed at reducing battery costs. The second point worth mentioning is that not every task requires a long range. It happens even the other way around - you want to explicitly limit the distance between interacting devices. In addition to the obvious reduction in consumption, this also affects safety. And a similar remark can be made about the volume of transmitted data. So the idea of ​​a slow wireless interface that operates over short distances and is characterized by low power consumption has a right to exist.

The starting point in the history of NFC development can be taken in 2004, when Nokia, Philips and Sony announced the creation of a touch-based interface for the interaction of various devices with the aim of developing and standardizing the interface between various devices. However, the first versions of the specifications were created a little earlier. Perhaps, by modern standards, the technology can be considered very young (if you do not take into account the history of RFID), but it is already quite often found in real products and services. In particular, at the Mobile World Congress 2013 held at the end of February, many stands and demonstrations were devoted to this topic.

This sign can be found on devices with NFC technology

The formal characteristics of the interface are as follows: operation at a distance of several centimeters, maximum information exchange rate of about 400 Kbps, full-duplex data exchange is supported, operating frequency is 13.56 MHz, connection establishment time does not exceed 0.1 s, operating mode is point-to-point. It can be seen that these parameters radically distinguish NFC from other popular wireless interfaces.

If we talk about devices, in addition to active controllers in NFC, there are also passive options (they are usually called tags), which receive power wirelessly from the active controller. One example is modern cards for travel on public transport. Tags are simply data storage, usually less than 4 KB in size. Most often, they only provide read mode, but there are also options with write support.

One of the simplest options for a passive NFC tag

The compact size of the controller and its low consumption allows NFC to be implemented even in small designs such as SIM cards or cards microSD memory. However, for full operation it is necessary to use a special antenna. In phones it is usually located on the back of the battery cover or built into back panel, if the device does not have a removable battery.

The NFC antenna is often placed on the back cover of the smartphone

The short range can have a negative impact when using tablets - finding the right place to “position” may not be as easy as we would like. To solve this problem, some manufacturers mark the location of the antenna with a special sign. As for the range, in our case the connection worked at a distance of no more than four centimeters - both between phones and with a passive tag.

From a security point of view, the developers did not implement elements of protection against interception and relay attacks. This of course makes it difficult to implement secure solutions, since it requires the applications themselves to be more secure. high level. Note that in fact, such a well-known protocol as TCP/IP behaves similarly. So from a practical point of view, losing a phone without additional protection with customized payment system programs seems more dangerous than intercepting communications.

Perhaps the most important thing to know about NFC today is that the interface itself does not provide any real practical use cases or solutions. Unlike, for example, Bluetooth, whose profiles clearly describe how to transfer a file, how to connect a headset or provide network access, NFC is only the base, and direct operating scenarios are provided by additional software which works through it. On the one hand, this opens up great opportunities for developers, but on the other hand, it is a problem for them when ensuring the interaction of different applications and devices.

Interestingly, any programs installed on a smartphone or tablet can register with operating system as event handlers related to NFC, and then when called externally, you will see a standard menu “how do you want to perform this action?” Because some scenarios using NFC imply convenient automation of actions; it is advisable not to overload the device with such utilities.

The NFC Forum tries to help with this uncertainty by proposing standardization of protocols for certain scenarios (notably NDEF for storing short messages on tags and SNEP (Simple NDEF Exchange Protocol) for exchanging information between devices), but practically determining the compatibility of specific devices is usually hampered by a lack of detailed information from the manufacturer and diagnostic tools. Another assistant here is Google, which offered latest versions Android own development Android Beam. It allows you to exchange certain types of information between compatible devices.

Android Beam

First, you need to make sure that both devices have NFC enabled, Android Beam active, and their screens are unlocked. On the models we tested, NFC only works if the screen is on and the device is fully unlocked. But perhaps other devices will use a different algorithm. In any case, the active interface requires very little battery power to operate, and so far the described approach seems quite reasonable. One option to simplify your work is to disable the lock screen. In this case, to identify the tag, it will be enough to simply turn on the smartphone. Another inconvenience is the need to confirm the operation by touching the screen after the devices find each other. This is not always easy to do without disrupting communication, especially when both devices are in the hands of two different people.

The next step is to select one of the applications on the device from which you plan to transfer. In particular, these may be:

• Google Chrome - transfer the current open link;
• YouTube client - transfer of a video clip (as a link);
• Google Maps - transfer of a place or route;
• Contacts—transfer a contact card;
• Google Play - application transfer;
• Gallery - transfer of photos.

Next, bring the devices closer to each other. When a partner is detected, you will hear a tone on the sending device and the desktop image will shrink. At this moment, you need to touch the screen image and hold your finger until you hear the second signal - about a successful transfer.

We tried the options listed, and almost all of them really work. Even the fact that our devices were produced by different manufacturers did not prevent them from finding a common language. But a few comments are still worth making. There are no problems with routes in Google Maps, but the option with a place is not very interesting, since only the current map display is transmitted. The dot marked on the screen of the original phone does not reach the recipient. The situation can be corrected by using the Addresses application, which transmits data correctly. When sending contacts, the photo is lost, since from a technical point of view the transmission format corresponds text files vcf. If we talk about applications, then you can send not only those installed on the phone, but also simply open cards on Google Play. Books and other content from the store are similarly supported. Naturally, we are talking about transferring links, and not the downloaded or, especially, purchased elements themselves. There was a problem with sending photos: the Sony device was unable to work with this type of data. The official wording is "The recipient's device does not support large data transfers via Android Beam." Here is the first sign that the interface is young or that the technical specifications of the devices are insufficiently detailed. Formally, we have both NFC and Android Beam in two devices, but in practice their real capabilities differ significantly, and this can only be found out by checking. What can we say about less famous manufacturers - their version of implementing this technology can be completely unpredictable.

By the way, regarding the work of Android Beam itself. The description of the technology indicates that data transmission uses Bluetooth communication after initial coordination of settings via NFC. Considering that all working formats required a really small amount of transferred data, NFC speed was quite enough for them, but for photographs it would have been clearly not enough. So we can assume that Sony has not implemented the switch to a faster interface. It is not possible to understand whether this problem is software (remember that this device has Android 4.0.4 installed) or hardware.

We also tried to send our own music and videos in the same way from their respective apps, but nothing appeared on the receiver.

Reading and writing tags

The described Android Beam uses the ability to transmit and process short information messages. However, in reality, they can not only be transmitted from the phone, but also read from passive tags. In some ways, this technology is similar to the well-known QR codes that are read by a phone camera. At the same time, useful information (for example, a link to a website page) takes up literally several tens of bytes. Tags can be used by companies, for example, to promote their products or services. Considering the compact size of the passive tag (more precisely, its thickness is comparable to a sheet of paper - because of the antenna, the area will still be significant, no less than a five-ruble coin), it can be placed almost anywhere: on a box with a product, in a magazine, on an information sheet. counter and other places.

Passive NFC tags can be manufactured as key fobs

If we talk about making tags with our own hands, then this is a completely feasible scenario. To do this, you need to purchase clean blanks and use a special program for your phone to write down the required information on them. For example, we bought several different options: a sticker of minimal thickness, a protected plastic circle and key chains. All of them had a very small amount of memory - only 144 bytes (there are also 4 KB options on the market). The number of rewrite cycles was not specified, but for most application scenarios this parameter is not critical. To work with tags, we can recommend NXP Semiconductors programs - TagInfo and TagWriter.

The first will allow you to read data from the tag and decrypt information according to the NDEF standard, and the second will help you create your own tags. Several NDEF sub-options are supported: contact, link, text, SMS, mail message, telephone number, Bluetooth connection, geographic location, local file link, application launch, URI. Please note that when creating a record, you need to take into account the amount of data stored. For example, a contact photo can take up several kilobytes, messages or text can also easily exceed 144 bytes. By the way, the NFC TagInfo program from NFC Research Lab with a special plugin can read and show you a color photo from a biometric passport. With a data volume of one and a half dozen kilobytes, reading them via NFC takes about 20 seconds. Additional level of protection in in this case is ensured by the need to specify some passport details to read data from the chip.

Note that automatic processing of read tags depends on the content. In particular, sometimes additional confirmation is required to carry out the action itself. For example, in the case of SMS, a completed message form opens, but the user must actually confirm the sending. But the recorded web link can immediately open in the browser. Any automation is associated with a loss of control, so the described capabilities should be used carefully, since by simply replacing or reprogramming tags, attackers can redirect you to a fake site instead of the original one. We did not find any standard OS settings to limit such autorun (unless you disable NFC itself).

Another important point when using tags in public places, protection against overwriting. When recording a tag, you can set a protection flag that will block all attempts to change the information, but it will no longer be possible to remove it. So the label will be used in read-only mode in the future. For home use, this is in most cases not very critical.

Let's mention a few more programs for recording tags:

Using ready-made tags to control the device

One of the active participants in the NFC implementation process is Sony. Its devices come pre-installed with the Smart Connect program, which supports working with original Sony tags. If you wish, using the SmartTag Maker utility, you can create them yourself from blank blanks. The system uses the NDEF URI format with encoding of the label number/color in the text link. In total, the system provides up to eight tags, which are designated as “home”, “office”, “car”, “bedroom”, “listen”, “play”, “activities”, “watch”.

Variant of original Sony SmartTags

The Smart Connect program itself works not only with NFC tags, but also with other devices connected to the phone, including headsets, power supply, and Bluetooth devices. It’s quite convenient that the standard settings already correspond well to the above scenarios. In this case, the user can reprogram all circuits; each of them specifies a set of conditions and actions.

As a condition, you can use tag identification or device connection, and you can additionally limit the operating time of the circuit. The set of actions is quite wide, it includes launching an application, opening a link in the browser, launching music, adjusting volume and mode, connecting a Bluetooth audio device, sending SMS, calling, managing wireless interfaces, adjusting brightness and other actions. Moreover, they can also be assigned to exit this mode, which is carried out by repeated recognition of the tag, by a new event/tag, or by the expiration of a specified time interval.

But in fact, it is not necessary to use Sony branded tags - you can also find use for ready-made tags that do not allow information to be overwritten. For example, these could be used transport cards. The fact is that each of them has its own unique identifier, which can be tied to certain actions using special programs. Possible reactions may include operations such as changing the profile, enabling/disabling interfaces, and many others.

There are several utilities for this scenario in the Play Store, let's mention a couple of them:

Let us remind you that you should not install several similar programs at once. This mode will not add any convenience, since when a tag is detected on the phone screen, a dialog box will appear asking you to select a program to process it.

While searching for programs for working with tags, we also came across another class of utilities that may be interesting if you have recordable tags. These programs use their own original recording format, which only they can work with. In this case, the set of possible actions is almost no different from those described above:

Let us remind you that at the moment the tag can be read only when the device is unlocked. So the scenario “came home, put the phone on the nightstand - automatically switched the profile, turned off the call and Bluetooth, set the alarm” will require some actions from the user. This behavior still slightly limits the capabilities of programs.

Exchange information between devices

With the exception of Android Beam, the scenarios described above assume the operation of a single phone with a tag or a specialized terminal. If we talk about the direct connection of devices with each other, then the main issue here is compatibility. Of course, in the case of products from one manufacturer, especially a large one, that manufacturer has the opportunity to simply install the appropriate program in the firmware. But if the devices are produced by different manufacturers, everyone will have to use the same utilities. And it’s not at all a fact that your partner will have the same program installed as yours.

Considering that NFC's own speed is very low, Bluetooth or Wi-Fi is usually used to quickly transfer files, and NFC only works at the stage of negotiating connection parameters and establishing a connection. To test this scenario, we tried several file transfer programs that claim to support NFC on our devices.

Send! File Transfer (NFC) free version Allows you to share photos, music and videos. You can use NFC or QR codes to establish communication. The transfer is carried out via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi (if both devices have support for Wi-Fi Direct, which the Sony phone we used did not have). As a result, we were able to see a speed of 65 KB/s, which, of course, is too low even for photographs.

Blue NFC, as the name suggests, also simplifies file sharing over Bluetooth by replacing the power-on, search, and pairing steps with touch and NFC sharing. The speed of operation is not very high - at the level of the program mentioned above.

File Expert HD also uses Bluetooth, but the speed is already 100-200 KB/s. True, in fairness it is worth noting that this program has many other file sharing modes.

Conclusion

As of the spring of 2013, we can say that NFC technology already confidently occupies a place in modern high-end and mid-level smartphones. Interest in it can be indirectly assessed by the number of programs in the Play Store: there are already several hundred free projects alone. Given market dominance (especially in terms of number of models) Android platforms, it is the one that is most popular today for NFC devices. iOS does not provide standard tools for NFC, but Windows Phone 8 has significantly limited NFC capabilities for third-party applications.

NFC technology itself has several features that allow it to occupy a unique position:

• contactless data transfer;
• work only over short distances;
• the ability to exchange information with other devices or passive tags;
• low cost solution;
• low power consumption;
• low data transfer speed.

Currently, for smartphones and tablets, there are three most relevant options for using NFC: exchanging data between devices (contacts, applications, links, photos and other files), reading tags with special information and changing device modes/settings/profiles, quick pairing with peripheral devices(for example, headsets). In the first case, you can try working with the standard Android program Beam or install alternative options. They can be useful if you need high transfer speeds (via Wi-Fi), but require the same program on each device.

Passive tags can be used almost anywhere, from posters to magazines to product tags. They can contain information about the product, a link to the website, Wi-Fi settings, contact information, geographic coordinates or other small amount of data. The spread of this method of information exchange directly depends on the number of compatible devices users have. This scenario can be compared to common QR codes, which today are, perhaps, still simpler in terms of implementation and more popular.

To change system settings Even tags without recording capabilities can be used with some programs, so many users will be able to try this scenario. However, it should be noted that in this case the set of options will be written in specific device, and transferring it to another device may be difficult. Most utilities for this purpose still require their own recorded tags, which allows them to store all the required information in encoded form directly in the tag (or cloud), so that to use these settings on another device, it will be enough to have the same program on it.

We did not consider in this article such NFC use cases as payment systems, electronic wallets and micropayments, tickets and coupons, transport cards and passes. These topics, especially the first, deserve separate consideration. We will try to return to them if there is reader interest and the spread of such solutions.

Modern technologies in the mobile industry are expanding and improving at a rapid pace. Wireless communications such as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth occupy a special place here. But in this article we will talk about relatively new technology- NFC: what is it on the phone and what is it for.

Purpose of the module

NFC is a module wireless communication. This name is an acronym and stands for “Near Field Communication”, which means “close communication”. And its main nuance is its small radius of action (up to 10 cm).

The module provides information exchange without the need for a wired connection. The transmitting and receiving devices must be located very close to one another, similar to the type of smartphone and payment terminal.

NFC is developed on the basis of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) - radio frequency identification that automatically identifies different objects. In this case, a special radio signal is used that reads the necessary information contained in the transponders. They are defined as NFC tags.

The main features of this technology:

• small size sensor;
• the ability to exchange any data with gadgets (including passive ones);
• high energy efficiency;
• low exchange rate;
• small price.

Due to these factors, this feature is very popular and can be easily installed in most devices. Among budget models we can highlight phones such as Huawei Honor 5C, Sony Xperia E5, Nokia 3, and among the expensive ones - Xiaomi Mi 6, Samsung Galaxy S8, LG V30.

Difference between NFC and Bluetooth

Many people compare NFC and Bluetooth modules due to the fact that they are both designed for wireless information transfer over a short distance. In modern smartphones they are implemented together.

There are significant differences between them, one of which is the speed of operation. Energy saving also depends on this. Thus, NFC transmits data much slower, but pairing occurs instantly and little energy is wasted. For Bluetooth, these indicators are the opposite.

To use Bluetooth, you need to turn it on, go to the list of devices available for connection, select the one you need and wait for the connection. For NFC, the connection time takes less than a second, and for this you need to touch your smartphone to the receiving gadget.

Actually, the NFC transmission speed reaches 424 Kb/s, and even Bluetooth version 3.1 reaches 40 Mb/s, not to mention 4.2 and 5.0.

The special difference is in the range. For NFC this figure is no higher than 10 cm, while Bluetooth operates up to 10 m depending on the version and signal strength.

Checking for NFC

This communication is integrated into phones, plastic cards and payment terminals. The receiver itself does not require much space, and it is usually mounted between the battery and the cover of the smartphone.

To programmatically define and enable a module:

If it is missing, then there will be nothing to activate. On plastic cards it is always enabled.

Application options

As soon as the technology became widespread, users began to be interested in ways to use it. So, the NFC gadget can operate in two modes:

• active - NFC is used on both communicating devices;
• passive - the working field of one device is used.

More details about the use of technology in practice are described below.

Contactless payment

The most common use case is contactless payments. It is enough to make a garter bank card to your device and bring it to the terminal to make a payment. This method is guaranteed to protect against fraudsters, because due to the small field of action, the signal cannot be intercepted.

To carry out such operations, you must have a special bank card that supports PayPass, after which:

1. Install your bank's application.
2. Log in with your account.
3. Go to the main menu.
4. Select "NFC".
5. Place the card on the back of the smartphone. This is necessary for the sensor to read information on it.

Exchange of information

Another exploitation option is information exchange. For this purpose, for example, a special application from the Play Market is used, which includes “Android Beam” in the name or description. This software allows you to transfer various files to another phone.

Advice! Only send objects as messages or links this way, because the data transfer speed is low and sending files will be very slow.

Reading marks

Another method of use is reading labels. The principle of operation is similar to scanning a QR code, only it uses a sensor under the back cover rather than a camera.

This can be especially useful at home. To create your own tags you need to install special program in Play Market. In this case, it will be possible to assign a specific task under a specific label such as “send a message”, “call”, etc.

Conclusions

NFC on your phone allows you to connect contactlessly with other devices for various tasks, such as paying for goods and services, exchanging information and reading tags. The data transfer speed is low, but the connection is instantaneous and requires almost no power.

NFC tags are the simplest devices that can operate without power and are used to transfer data recorded in them to a smartphone. These chips are very inexpensive and are sold in a variety of forms: stickers, keychains, and even jewelry. The data that tags exchange with a smartphone can be absolutely anything: from a link to a business card website and a phone number to a whole sequence of actions that must be performed on the smartphone. The result is the same - life becomes easier.

One of the most common uses of an NFC tag is to quickly set up smartphone modes.

For example, when you get into your car, you typically turn the screen brightness up to maximum and launch Google Maps for navigation. To do this will require a lot of steps. If you have an NFC tag programmed for these actions, then just touch it with your smartphone - and everything will happen by itself.

Having returned home, you go to bed and want to read. You need to change the color temperature of the screen, lower the brightness, open the e-reader application with a book and, of course, do not forget to set the alarm. To do this in a split second, all you need to do is have a tag pre-programmed for these actions on hand and touch your smartphone to it. One or two - and you're done!

However, let's be objective. For the vast majority of users, the convenience of NFC tags will seem somewhat far-fetched, because on daily trips from home to work and back, a navigator is not needed, and you only need to program an alarm clock on your smartphone once - and that’s it.

Contactless payment systems

Contactless payment technology is the most obvious benefit of NFC. A traditional plastic card with a magnetic stripe is unsafe and takes a long time. Your money depends on the numbers on the front of the card, an outdated and vulnerable magnetic stripe interface, and a three-digit security code. The card is easy to lose, and you regularly show its data to the cashier when you give him the card for payment.

With the advent of contactless payment technologies Visa payWave and MasterCard PayPass, the transaction process began to go faster, but the level of security did not increase. The rules of the game really changed with the advent of NFC in smartphones and plastic card emulation technology with the ability to pay. You simply bring your smartphone to the terminal like a regular card, and that’s it - the purchase is paid. There are already several payment systems, which turn a smartphone into a wallet. They are all free and no internet access is required to use them.

All current Android smartphones have the top line of the screen literally filled with all sorts of symbols. Many of them are clear, familiar, and even useful: the notification panel informs you about new email messages, file downloads, the availability and quality of telephone and WiFi networks, battery charge level, etc. However, sometimes a mysterious letter N appears there, causing some suspicious users to feel slightly uneasy.

In this article we will talk about the function that is designated in Android devices by this very letter N, as well as how to disable it, and why you can do it right now.

• What does the N symbol mean and what is NFC?

On the panel Android notifications an intricately designed letter N appears as a sign that the smartphone (or tablet) has turned on the NFC module. NFC - near field communication - is a technology through which two nearby mobile devices can exchange data (sorry for such a simplified definition).

You've probably already heard about this technology and even seen it in action. In developed democracies, NFC is used everywhere: for example, in mobile payment systems (the most famous among us are Android Pay and Samsung Pay) - this is when you can do it directly from a smartphone, smart bracelets and other smart devices. In addition, via NFC you can transfer any other data from one smartphone to another.

• How to disable NFC in Android smartphone(and take the N icon from the notification panel)?

This one is simple. Most likely, in your Android you will find the option to disable NFC directly in the quick settings menu. That is, we swipe across the screen from top to bottom, and in the drop-down menu, somewhere next to the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth symbols, we find an icon in the form of the same letter N as in the notification panel, with a caption next to it and, if the function is active, tap on it to turn it off.

If you didn’t find the letter N in the quick settings of your smartphone, then open the normal settings, then click “ More… " in the section " Wireless networks " and in the subsection " Transfer files and data » turn the NFC option switch to the « position Off ", after which the N symbol will disappear from the notification panel.

• To disable or not to disable NFC?

Frankly speaking, at present there is practically no real benefit from NFC for the vast majority of Android users. Well, as we already said, you can transfer photos or other files from one smartphone to another. Contactless mobile payment systems have not yet enjoyed such significant popularity among the population and, there is a suspicion that they will not be used for quite some time. The mentioned Android Pay and Samsung Pay, despite their very successful debut in the States, will not come to our shores anytime soon.

So, if you are not in an American store right now, you can safely disable the NFC function in your Android smartphone and thus save its battery power.