Google is on the way to being a NFC trend-setter in the U.S. with its NFC enabled Google+ app. Although NFC is used often in countries like Japan, it’s taking a bit longer for the U.S. to catch up to the trend. Singapore-based software developer Ridzuan Ashim first spotted the NFC integration on the Nexus S phone.
The Google+ app lets you use NFC to read tags and share the contents of those tags via Google+. Near Field Communication or NFC allows for simplified transactions, data exchange, and connections with a touch.
At the moment, the functionality is quite limited but it could herald endless possibilities in future – automatically check you in at a restaurant and share it with your circles, scan tags to join a Huddle, easily find location-based relevant Sparks.
NFC tags could also let you add a person to one of your Circles. Similar to the iPhone app Bump where you tap your iPhone to another iPhone to exchange phone numbers, you could just touch phones with another Google+ member and they would be instantly added to your Circle.
If your need to know more about the terms – Circles, Sparks, Hangouts and Huddles check out Google+ post for more information.
Formed in 2004, the Near Field Communication Forum (NFC Forum) promotes sharing, pairing, and transactions between NFC devices and develops and certifies device compliance with NFC standards. A A Smartphone or a tablet with an NFC chip could make a credit card payment or serve as keycard or ID card. NFC devices can read NFC tags on a museum or retail display to get more information or an audio or video presentation. NFC can share a contact, photo, song, application, or video or pair Bluetooth devices.
As of now you can use this Google+ NFC enabled app only with a Nexus S phone as well as being one of the members of the elite Google+. However, as an android police blog says, we can live vicariously through this video to experience the joys and wonders of NFC with G+ :