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(Ailisto et al., 2006). In physical browsing, the
links are embedded in physical objects, and the
user can select and use them to access internet
content and services.
The technology used in the research pre-
sented in this chapter, NFC, is one technology for
implementing physical browsing user interfaces.
Other possible solutions include, for example,
visual codes that are read through the camera of
a mobile device (Rekimoto & Ayatsuka, 2000;
Hansen & Grønbæk, 2008), infrared transceiv-
ers and tags (Swindells et al., 2002) or infrared
beacons (Debaty et al., 2005; Want et al., 1999),
and various other RFID variations (Want et al.,
1999). Use of 2D barcodes - two-dimensional
figures that represent data such as URLs - is
widespread for example in Japan allowing us-
ers to access related websites by scanning these
figures with mobile phone cameras (O'Neill et
al., 2007). Japan's NTT DoCoMo, a mobile com-
munication carrier, has been developing “Audio
Barcode,” a technology that allows data, such as
text information describing website URLs, to be
carried and transmitted on sound waves in the
audible range (music and spoken word) (NTT
DoCoMo, 2007). Audio barcode represents and
transmits data in a similar way to 2D barcodes.
Data embedded in sound waves are picked up by
target devices with a microphone (mobile phones,
for example), analyzed by special software, and
then extracted. NTT DoCoMo expects Audio
Barcode's use scenarios to include automatic
transmission of website URLs to a mobile phone
that is directed at a television set or radio. NTT
DoCoMo also expects the barcode to add a new
dimension to the mobile phone. For example, at
an art museum, the mobile phone could be held
before an audio guide in one language but display
information in another language.
The user experience of NFC-supported service
and content access has been studied in controlled
settings. Touch-based service and content access
have been found to be easy to learn and use,
and users value the simplicity of the technology
(Isomursu et al., 2008; Riekki et al., 2006; Välk-
kynen et al., 2006a). The research presented in this
chapter contributes to the prevailing knowledge by
exploring the user experience related especially
to Mobile Internet access and providing results
from the use of technology in field settings in
various contexts.
NFC Technology
The field trials reported in this chapter have been
implemented within the constraints of a research
project that has evaluated applications and services
based on Near Field Communication (NFC) tech-
nology. NFC is a short-range wireless technology
that allows electronic devices to exchange data
upon touching. NFC standards have been built
over existing radio frequency communication
standards (e.g. RFID and smart card standards),
so it is a special case of RFID implementation
technology.
The most common scenario for NFC use is to
integrate the NFC reader into a mobile device,
such as a mobile phone. This has already been
done by some mobile phone manufacturers, and
low quantities of NFC-enabled mobile phones
have been available in the market for some years
now. Larger quantities are expected to emerge in
the market in the near future. The standardiza-
tion of the NFC technology has progressed well,
and leading mobile phone manufacturer Nokia
has announced they will use NFC technology in
their smartphones in the near future. The mobile
device with integrated NFC reader can be used
to read NFC tags, or to communicate with other
NFC-enabled devices upon touch. NFC tags are
small and cheap, and they can be attached to vir-
tually any object or surface. The tag can then act
as a link between the physical and digital worlds.
Using an NFC tag as a Mobile Internet ac-
cess point is very simple. The tag can directly
store the URL to the web content. When the user
touches the tag, the URL is transferred to the
mobile phone using short-range radio frequency.
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