NXP supports NFC API extension in Android 2.3.3

Android 2.3.3 will support extended tag read capabilities, tag write capabilities and peer-to-peer exchange, enabling developers to bring new and compelling NFC applications to the consumer.

The NFC updates available in Android 2.3.3 include:

* An extension of the tag reading API that provides increased flexibility in supporting global tag standards. This ensures improved interoperability with most tag standards and technologies in use today throughout the world for access control, transport and ticketing, product authentication and supply chain management. It also provides full access to a wide range of products of multiple manufacturers, from simple memory tags to more secure tag implementations with data encryption.
* The ability to write contentto tags, providing application developers with the means to create their own unique NFC applications.
* Advanced Intent dispatching that gives apps more control over how/when they are launched when an NFC tag comes into range.
* Support for peer-to-peer information exchange between two NFC-enabled devices, opening up a new range of services such as business card exchange, gaming and social networking.

“The release of Android 2.3.3 with extended NFC functionality highlights the commitment from NXP and Google to bring the full potential of NFC to consumers in increasingly new and exciting ways,” said Ruediger Stroh, executive vice president and general manager, Identification business, NXP Semiconductors. “We believe that contributing our code to the Android Open Source Project will drive the creation of compelling NFC applications. NXP is dedicated to the development of open-source NFC APIs and protocol stacks. We’re working with partners from across the eco-system which includes many different parties such as Google, handset manufacturers and mobile network operators to support the development of NFC devices and applications.”

Today, NFC offers consumers a high level of convenience, interactivity and security with their mobile devices, and further enhances their smartphone experiences by linking the virtual world of applications with the physical environment. Using natural touch gestures, NFC devices can easily pair with accessories, interact on a peer-to-peer level to exchange data, and connect to a huge installed base of reader and tag infrastructures.

NFC is a market proven technology co-invented by NXP in 2002. In 2004 NXP co-founded the NFC Forum to lead the collaboration with all industry stakeholders and help standardize the technology. NFC technology evolved from a combination of contactless identification (RFID) and interconnection technologies. Ranked as the No.1 contactless IC vendor by ABI Research for three years in a row, NXP is the global leader in NFC solutions,field proven in over 150 NFC trials and landmark commercial deployments worldwide.

To learn more about NFC and the potential applications of the technology while at Mobile World Congress, visit booth 1F14 (Hall 1) to meet with NXP Semiconductors.