Memory devices simplify NFC pairing

The devices can be used to embed NFC capability into almost any kind of electrical equipment, from loudspeakers and printers, to cookers and smart electricity meters. "The M24SR family enables a new paradigm in how to interact with the world around us," said Benoit Rodrigue, general manager of ST's memory division. "Today, smartphones are increasingly at the centre of how we interact with other people. Tomorrow, they will also be at the centre of how we interact with everything we own or use." One of the potential benefits enabled by the M24SR family is Bluetooth pairing between a smartphone and an audio device. Instead of having to open the phone's settings, users simply have to turn Bluetooth on, select the audio device code name and wave their smartphone by the NFC enabled audio device. This then automatically activates Bluetooth pairing between the two devices as settings have been transmitted over NFC. Rodrigues continued: "The key benefit of embedding NFC capability into almost any kind of equipment or device is that the device can then be designed to offer all the features that would be possible if they had keyboards, graphic displays and internet connections, without actually having to incorporate these expensive and space consuming features into the equipment itself; the user's smartphone already has them and can 'lend' them."