Help NFC v. Android Beam

[Android Question]

What is NFC and how can I tell if a phone has it? How do I use it? What can you tell me about Android Beam?

 

[Hadron]

NFC = Near Field Communications - a short-range wireless data-transfer protocol. You can't tell by looking at a phone whether it has it or not, you need to look up the specifications of the particular handset model (or look in the Settings (it will be somewhere in Wireless & Network settings if it's there - since some manufacturers rearrange the menus I can't be more specific).

Android Beam is a way of sharing certain types of information between 2 NFC-capable handsets. I've never used it, so can't say much more than that.

 

[chanchan05]

In the most basic sense, NFC is the antenna, Android Beam is the app that uses NFC to share data.