Nexus S set to bring NFC to Google Places?

By Mike Clark • nfcworld.com • 7 December 2010, 11:52

A short video on Google's Nexus S microsite showcases the phone's NFC capabilities and may hint at the direction of the search and advertising giant's first moves with the technology.

In the film Android engineer Simon Wilson talks about NFC and the Nexus S. A 'Recommended on Google Places' decal — which could serve a similar function to the QR Code bearing 'Favourite Places' window stickers sent to thousands of US businesses over the last year — is used to demonstrate the technology, hinting that geo-targeted promotions and check-ins may be early applications for NFC on Android phones.

Later in the video the fact that the phone is limited to reading tags and does not for the moment offer tag writing, peer-to-peer or card emulation functionality is presented as a security benefit when Wilson confirms that Nexus S only operates in reader mode: "Currently, your Nexus S can only read information from other objects", he says, "Information from your Nexus S cannot be read by other devices or objects".

For the wider world of NFC, much hangs on that "currently".

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