Add Facebook Friends By Touching Your NFC-Capable Android Phones Together

If you thought NFC (Near Field Communication) was just a means for wireless monetary transactions, Add Friend for Android is bound to open your mind to a plethora of possibilities. This simple yet inspiring free app employs NFC to lets two users become friends on Facebook simply by touching the backs of their phones. Being one of the few NFC-based mobile apps out there, and the only one (we’ve come across) that links the technology with the world’s leading social network, the app is a welcome addition to the Android Market. Head on past the break for further details and a demo video.

For those unaware, NFC is the latest wireless data transfer technique, along with Wi-Fi Direct, that is currently supported by only a handful of devices, and comes bundled with the latest iteration of Google’s mobile operating system, Ice Cream Sandwich. To learn more about NFC, please go through our detailed post covering the salient features of Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich.

Using the app is as simple as it sounds. It only has a couple of prerequisite – the official Facebook client for Android, and, of course, a couple of NFC capable Android devices.  Ensure that you and your friend have said client installed and NFC enabled (Settings > Wireless & Networks for Android 2.3.x and Settings > More in Android 4.x), launch Add Friend on your device, have your friend launch the app on his/hers, touch the backs of both devices together, and weight for slightly over a second. This should launch the official Facebook client, taking you straight to your friend’s profile page, wherefrom you can befriend him/her by hitting the Add Friend button.

If the app doesn’t find the Facebook client, it automatically launches Market and takes you to its download page. If it does, it requests authorization to your account. Every time you use the app to add a friend, it posts an alert to your Wall.

The video below shows the app working on a pair of Nexus S devices.

Add Friend may not be of much use as of now, but as the number of NFC-capable Android devices increases, the app, along with possible upcoming Twitter and Google+ variants, might grow to become a must-have accessory for social media enthusiasts. The app is available for free on the Android Market. If you have an NFC-capable Android device, download it from the link provided below.

Download Add Friend For Android

[via Redmond Pie]

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Sameed Khan

Electronics engineer | Writer/Blogger | Technology & graphic design enthusiast | Avid PC gamer | Twitter | Google+

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