How many times have you wanted to transfer something like a picture, webpage, or contact information between your phone and another device only to find that the process often requires multiple steps and isn’t very quick at all. Sure, things like Chrome to Phone and apps like Bump have made the process easier, but in the latest release of Android Gingerbread, version 2.3.3, APIs are now available that combine NFC and Bluetooth technology to create instant sharing simply by tapping devices together.

It works by avoiding the normal pairing process associated with Bluetooth and setting up a temporary socket between devices by sharing the pertinent information quickly via NFC. In a world where this tech is fully realized, tapping your phone to another enabled device such as a laptop or tablet could pop open the whatever you are currently browsing on your phone on a larger device, a trick that hasn’t been touted nearly as much as the payment solution that NFC provides.

NFC technology is just starting to come into its own, and really won’t break out until it becomes more prevalent in our every day lives as a means of payment and sharing information, but we are glad that Google is staying ahead of the curve on this one.

[via Engadget]