Bluetooth and NFC together to make the most of the two?

The NFC Forum and the Bluetooth Sig join forces to propose a simplification of the peer to peer data transfer.

To send contacts, short information and links, there are lots of opportunities. Everything from the simple e-mail, up to the NFC by Bluetooth.

In the first case, simply just, since his mobile that supports this type of function, insert the contact card in the mail and send it. The problem, it is that it takes time with two correspondents network coverage and that it draws a little in packages data.

When one is nearby, you can switch the Bluetooth should enable, select the contact card and send it, while in the face, must be an acceptance of the connection, enter a pairing code and validate the transfer. Complicated? Not so much that it's, but it can quickly become tedious if two mobile devices do not speak the same "language" and therefore add additional steps which discourage quickly... To give interested in iron at the stage of good old paper-pencil to share a number.

Otherwise, there is the NFC (Near Field Communication). On paper, it is promising, it is sufficient just to select the contact card, the share via NFC and of "bumper" its mobile with that of its neighbour that sharing operates. In reality, this does not always work very well. If two mobile devices are not identical or use different systems, it resumes again on the problems of compatibility.

To simplify this, the NFC Forum and the Bluetooth Sig, two institutions of many companies for the development of these technologies, will now work together to provide solutions to these problems. Major, in the sense that customers do not use them and thus manufacturers are likely to deadlock on them for not burdening the invoice of the smartphone which is already expensive to produce.

A first solution would be the addition of a new bluetooth profile called Secure Simple Pairing, using the NFC to negotiate security between the two keys. With this new profile SSP, it is sufficient just to approach a pedometer or a helmet for the bluetooth liasion to be effective, a good thing in the end.

One could even imagine the transfer of data such as photos, first initiated in NFC and then passing on the Bluetooth 4.0 which itself uses a high-speed transfer and easy WiFi. Finally, we will wait until this happens, because the promises only bind those who hold.