STMicroelectronics is making it easier to explore creative applications for contactless near-field communication (NFC) ...

Powered by “a nice little NFC EEPROM from NXP”, (the NT3H1101) the business card even has an energy harvesting mode. Moreover, one can interact with the card via four buttons and an LED.

Often the term will bring to mind the ability to pay by holding your phone over a reader, but the system can also use NFC tags embedded in credit cards, ID card, passports, and the like.

That doesn't mean there isn't plenty to play for, especially in the NFC, where at least a half-dozen clubs are still vying for playoff tickets. Here, we're sizing up the wild-card picture with an ...