NFC Hits "Point of No Return"

"NFC has reached the point of no return," says ABI Research’s John Devlin. "It all hinged on handsets; and next year we will see half-a-billion devices in the hands of consumers as it becomes more widely integrated."

The number of NFC devices in use will exceed 500 million in 2014, with 285 million shipped this year alone, according to ABI.

Companies like Blackberry and Samsung have implemented narrow strategies around NFC. As a result they are setting themselves apart.

Others, like LG and Sony, are horizontally integrating NFC into a broad array of products—not only mobile phones and tablets, but PCs, peripherals, speakers, TVs, cameras, games and appliances.

Wall Street Journal Trumpets NFC

Ben Rooney, writing for The Wall Street Journal, says the recent Mobile World Congress makes clear "that Near Field Communication might finally be about to have its day."

NFC was pervasive at Mobile World Congress, Rooney notes. "If you had the right phone you could bypass the entrance queues with an NFC-powered 'badge' on your phone. The halls were strewed with NFC-powered 'smart' posters that would unlock all manner of hidden secrets if you tapped them with your smartphone, from restaurant information to directions to the nearest restrooms. There were demonstrations that allowed you to play music on headphones, test if products were genuine or counterfeit, or that let you replace your car keys or your house keys with just your phone."

Yes, other technologies let you do these things, Rooney says; but none beats an NFC-enabled phone when it comes to convenience.

"Yes, you can travel with Oyster card, but if it runs out of money you have to queue to charge it up. With an NFC-enabled phone you don't. Yes, you can read QR codes, but you have to have the app installed, and there have been cases of people covering over QR codes on posters with malicious codes that direct users to nefarious websites. Yes you can print out your boarding pass for a flight, or even have it delivered to your phone, but you have to have the app open—and your phone has to be on. NFC-enabled ticket apps can work with the phone off. They will even work—under some circumstances—if your battery runs flat. Some NFC readers can generate enough power in your phone to power up the security chip, which may be at least enough to get you home."

BCARD Platform Introduced at EXHIBITOR 2013

On March 18, ITN will introduce BCARD Platform during EXHIBITOR 2013.

"Anywhere, anytime and always on," BCARD Platform is a mobile lead management system exhibitors can use at any kind of event, no matter whether digital badges are issued.

Leads can even be captured during face-to-face encounters at the office, the airport, the golf course or the watering hole.