Since 2011 is on its last legs, it's just the right time to start predicting tech trends for 2012. Near Field Communication or NFC took big
strides in 2011 and seems like 2012 is going to be an exciting year for the emerging technology. Digitimes is predicting that the technology will go mainstream in coming years. It is estimates that within next three years, 50 percent of the smartphones will have this technology.
Research firm Gartner, on the other hand, expects that Apple will finally concede and get Near Field Communication technology on iPhone. The Apple smartphone has so far shied away from adapting this technology. There had been rumors that the Cupertino company is working on a home-grown competing technology, but nothing solid has come out as yet.
Nokia already is in already sync with NFC and has quite a few of its handsets loaded with the technology. Now, that the Finn company is working in collaboration with Microsoft, it is safe to assume that the Nokia Windows Phone 7 to be released in 2012 would be NFC compatible.
The technology is gaining increased acceptance not only from handset makers, but also from financial institutions. NFC's most popular use is to make contactless payments. More and more major financial institutions such as Visa and Mastercard are making NFC compatible products and cards. In the coming years, NFC is expected to increase its scope beyond contactless payments.
