RIM introduces NFC-based BlackBerry Tag app
RIM has introduced BlackBerry Tag, an app that lets BlackBerry users exchange information by tapping handsets together.
RIM Co-CEO Jim Balsillie unveiled BlackBerry Tag today at the GITEX conference in Dubai. BlackBerry Tag is an NFC-based app that will let BlackBerry customers share information simply by tapping their BlackBerrys together. You can also add friends directly to your BBM list this way.
This sounds a lot like Bump, an iOS and Android app that transfers information in a similar way. However, Bump uses your phone's sensors and a cloud-based algorithm for the connection, while BlackBerry Tag utilizes NFC, the proximity-based technology introduced with BlackBerry OS 7. Not many BlackBerry phones are equipped with NFC, however. They include the BlackBerry Bold 9900/9930 and the BlackBerry Curve 9350/9360/9370 handsets.
BlackBerry Tag will be incorporated in the next OS 7 update. RIM announced plans to introduce Tag through APIs, so developers can add this functionality to their own apps.