The Next Generation of NFC is Born: Android Beam
By: Hillel Fuld
Google is having a good day. Not only did Apple disappoint with their Q4 2011 earnings, which is something that has not happened in a long time, but new Android phones were announced today, and simply put, they look awesome.
The new Droid RAZR by Motorola (Yes, they are bringing the RAZR back) is ridiculously thin but its size is nothing compared to its specs. More on that here and a picture of the phone below.
More importantly though, the next generation Android was debuted on the Galaxy Nexus phone manufactured by Samsung. The phone looks downright awesome with a whopping 4.65′ of screen real estate, Android 4.0 aka Ice Cream Sandwich, 1.2 GHz dual-core processor, “face unlock” (exactly how it sounds), Google+ integration (I am good!), and the coolest feature of the new OS, Android Beam.
Android Beam makes use of the NFC chip, which we have seen used for payment using Google Wallet, but this is a whole new level of NFC. As you can see in the Engadget video below, Android Beam can be used to transfer all sorts of information between devices from Web pages to contacts to Google Maps, and even a game you are playing. By touching the two phones together and beaming the data, you can send the other person directly to the link of the game you are playing in the Android Market. That is impressive.
Anyway, watch the hands on videos with the Galaxy Nexus and Android Beam in action below.
