NXP has formed a strategic collaboration with Google to provide a complete open source software stack for Near Field Communication (NFC). The NFC stack will be fully integrated and validated on Gingerbread, the latest version of the Android™ platform. Google also integrated NXP´s NFC controller (PN544) into its newly launched Nexus S™ phone, co-developed by Google and Samsung, offering users access to compelling NFC based services and applications. These game-changing moves immediately bring the richness of NFC to the consumer and developer and device manufacturing communities around the world.

A video demonstrating NFC on the Nexus-S is available here (scroll down to Near Field Communication).

With over 100,000 applications and an extensive community of developers Android is a growing player in the smartphone and mobile device world. With developers now able to access an open source NFC implementation, NXP will help drive the development of new, exciting and creative applications that extend the touch interface of mobile applications beyond the devices screen. It also enables manufacturers to develop NFC enabled mobile devices with a faster time to market and lower implementation and development costs.

Today, NFC offers consumers a high level of convenience, interactivity and security with their mobile devices, and further enhances their smartphone experiences by linking the virtual world of applications with the physical environment. Using natural touch gestures NFC devices can easily pair with accessories, interact on a peer-to-peer level to exchange data, and connect to a huge installed base of reader and tag infrastructures. Nexus S will offer consumers immediate access to read NFC tags.

NFC is a market proven technology co-invented by NXP in 2002. In 2004 NXP co-founded the NFC Forum to lead the collaboration with all industry stakeholders and help standardize the technology. NFC technology evolved from a combination of contactless identification (RFID) and interconnection technologies. Ranked as the number one contactless IC vendor by ABI Research for three years in a row, NXP is the global leader in NFC solutions, field proven in over 150 NFC trials and landmark commercial deployments worldwide.

Features of the PN544 NFC controller

Launched in 2009, the PN544 is the world´s first truly industry standard NFC controller, delivering a fully compliant platform for handset manufacturers and operators to introduce next generation NFC devices and services. The NXP PN544 chip is fully compliant with all released NFC specifications on the Single Wire Protocol (SWP) connection with the SIM and the Host Controller Interface (HCI).

• Small footprint for size optimization
• Optimized for low power consumption
• Optionally working in Battery Off and Battery Low modes
• MIFARE 1K/4K Reader/writer functionality enabled in host baseband
• Optionally available with an modular, generic and platform independent software stack
• Optimized antenna designs for best-in-class RF performance

Related links

• NXP portfolio for NFC
• Google video demonstrating NFC on Nexus-S (scroll down to "Near Field Communication")

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