NFC Forum, Bluetooth SIG out interoperation doc

The NFC Forum and Bluetooth SIG have come together to produce an application document meant for developers that details how the two standards will interact together. Titled Bluetooth secure simple pairing using NFC (PDF), the document talks about how smartphones and other NFC and Bluetooth-enabled devices will communicate wirelessly with other devices like headsets and headphones, in-vehicle entertainment systems and connected TVs. The new standards and NFC tech should save time, as it will no longer require users to punch in passwords in both devices, but simply tap them together to enable the Bluetooth connection.

Nokia's N9 already has the ability to pair over NFC with some Bluetooth headsets and its own Play 360 wireless speaker. These new standards, however, aim to make the pairing seamless across all devices equipped with Bluetooth and NFC.

Only a handful of smartphones currently support NFC, including the N9, a few Symbian-based Nokia phones, some BlackBerry 7 devices, and mostly Samsung-made Android phones like the Galaxy Nexus. Microsoft has signaled plans for NFC on Windows Phone, and Apple has been dropping clues that it's at least considering iPhones with NFC.

By Electronista Staff