INSIDE Secure's latest version of its open-source NFC protocol stack for the Google Android 4.0 release, aka Ice Cream Sandwich.
Available for download from the open Near Field Communication (NFC) website (http://www.open-nfc.org), the open NFC version 4.3.3 for Google Android 4.0 is compliant with the Ice Cream Sandwich release Compatibility Definition Document (CDD) for NFC, and provides the NFC ecosystem with consistent NFC Application Program Interface (API) and functionality to implement NFC independently of the underlying NFC hardware.
It supports all the latest Android NFC features, including Android Beam and wi-fi direct pairing connection. Open NFC also supports card emulation.
“The Ice Cream Sandwich release brings even greater NFC functionality to the android operating system, and INSIDE is making our latest version of open NFC available to give connectivity chip vendors, smartphone and tablet manufacturers and software developers a head start in achieving NFC hardware independence,” said Charles Walton, COO for INSIDE Secure.
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The open-source NFC stack supports Android app development because only that the small Hardware Abstraction Layer (HAL) portion needs to be adapted for specific hardware.
Open NFC supports several levels of functionality, from low-level RF control to high-level NFC forum tag handling, peer-to-peer communications as well as bluetooth and wi-fi pairing, interactions with single-wire protocol SIMs and other secure elements and compatibility with smart cards and RFID tags based on Felica, Mifare and ISO 14443 standards.
INSIDE Secure’s open NFC 4.3.3 for ICS can be downloaded free from the open NFC web site, http://open-nfc.org