Samsung's Nexus S brings with it the latest tasty version of Android, Gingerbread. But the phone also comes with another technological bonus baked in. Here's what you need to know about near field communication.

It's another short-range wireless technology...

NFC isn't really new...or cutting edge. In fact, it's basically a variation of other short-range wireless technologies already used throughout the world—especially in Japan and Europe. Like RFID, near field communication can quickly swap information between devices when they're touched together. You can exchange things like text, images, URLs or other data simply by holding your phone up to various "smart tags."


..That uses magnets to send data...


...And is intended to make your life easier...

In theory. While it hasn't enjoyed the same popularity stateside, NFC tech is already big in Japan, where you can use your NFC-enabled phone to buy train tickets in Tokyo or as a contactless payment system at various retailers. Google hopes that by including it in its new flagship Android device and open-sourcing the software, it'll eventually change the way people use and interact with their phone here in the US, too.

...But isn't fully baked yet.



This post originally appeared at Gizmodo and is republished here with permission.

This story was originally published by Gizmodo.

This article originally appeared at Gizmodo. Copyright 2014.