[portman]

Wait, the NFC implementation is receive-only?

Doesn't this preclude using your phone as an NFC payment device (which would be transmit, not receive)?

Can someone confirm if I'm parsing this correctly:

"An NFC Reader application lets the user read and interact with near-field communication (NFC) tags. For example, the user can “touch” or “swipe” an NFC tag that might be embedded in a poster, sticker, or advertisement, then act on the data read from the tag. A typical use would be to read a tag at a restaurant, store, or event and then rate or register by jumping to a web site whose URL is included in the tag data. NFC communication relies on wireless technology in the device hardware, so support for the platform's NFC features on specific devices is determined by their manufacturers."

[naner]

Yes, an NFC Reader application only supports reading. The chip on the Nexus S supports reading and writing[1] so, assuming the OS allows it, you can write an application to swap contacts or whatever.

1: http://techcrunch.com/2010/12/06/google-nexus-s-review/

[trotsky]

Oh, that is crappy. I had assumed it was both read and write, but it is in fact read only in 2.3 according to the API docs:

Provides access to Near Field Communication (NFC) functionality, allowing applications to read NDEF message in NFC tags. A "tag" may actually be another device that appears as a tag.

Here's a summary of the classes:

NfcAdapter - This represents the device's NFC adapter, which is your entry-point to performing NFC operations. You can acquire an instance with getDefaultAdapter().

NdefMessage - Represents an NDEF data message, which is the standard format in which "records" carrying data are transmitted between devices and tags. Your application can receive these messages from an ACTION_TAG_DISCOVERED intent.

NdefRecord - Represents a record, which is delivered in a NdefMessage and describes the type of data being shared and carries the data itself.

http://developer.android.com/reference/android/nfc/package-d...

[dinedal]

What makes transmitting from the point of sale through the internet any more secure then transmitting from the phone itself?