Near Field Communication, Ubiquitous Content & Privacy

We’ve talked about the concept of the phone as an electronic wallet before and now Gizmag provides a detailed report on the use of the phone as a wallet and information device using NFC, or Near Field Communication.

If you ignore the fact that the article smells a lot like it’s a well written ad for the “SAGEM my700X ContactLess phone”, it sill gives some useful pointers on the evolution of the phone including:

* Swiping for public transport (like your Oyster Card)
* Swiping as a loyalty card
* Getting information like maps and timetables from data posts
* Getting hit by locational ads (urgh)

We wonder how the phone could be used as part of ubiquitous content – how our environment could change with the way we use, hold or dial our phone.

All this also makes us wonder if the phone may also become one way to wear that Red Coat and manage our privacy too: could we use the phone to prove who we are, providing basic details and a secure code for a system checking that data to access an elected selected database for more information on the phone user? Lots of opportunities here. Lots of challenges too.

gizmag Article: NFC morphs the wallet and the mobile phone