The NFC Forum released a free white paper (http://bit.ly/1wLwwox)...

The NFC Forum released a free white paper (http://bit.ly/1wLwwox) targeted to developers so they can give consumers “seamless access” to Bluetooth and Wi-Fi services using near-field communication (NFC), the group said Wednesday. The white paper describes the process for the connection handover capability built into the NFC technical spec that enables secure one-touch setup of NFC combined with high-speed, longer-distance communication of Bluetooth or Wi-Fi, the forum said. Use cases include situations where the amount of data to be transferred is too large to be sent over NFC or when data is to be streamed for a longer time, the forum said. Examples include enabling audio streaming between a smartphone and speaker or headset, streaming between a smartphone and TV or the transfer of a photo from a digital camera to a smartphone over Wi-Fi, it said. NFC spokeswoman Ruth Cassidy told us the NFC Forum and the Bluetooth Special Interest Group formed an alliance and jointly created a document that gives examples for simple, secure pairing of Bluetooth devices using NFC. “Wireless technology providers are increasingly turning to NFC to help ensure a positive user experience during device-to-device communications, whether pairing consumer electronics or enabling the Internet of Things,” said Koichi Tagawa, NFC Forum chairman, saying a revised application document will make it easier for developers to implement the two technologies. The NFC Forum also partnered with the Wi-Fi Alliance, and the latter recently added NFC to its Wi-Fi Protected Setup, which allows consumers to “tap-to-connect” to wireless networks using smartphones or tablets, Cassidy said. That capability enables devices including cameras, gaming devices, smart home appliances and thermostats to connect to networks with a single tap, she said.