BlackBerry® Tag is a new way to share content with others, allowing you to use NFC technology to pass information with a simple tap between any two NFC-enabled BlackBerry® smartphones.

What can be shared through BlackBerry Tag?

Here are some examples of what you’ll be able to share with a single tap:

• Invite your friend to BBM™ (BBM 6.1, which is now available on BlackBerry® App World™)
• Share contact information
• Share content from the media applications
• Share voice notes
• Share documents from within Documents To Go®
• Share a URL from the browser
• Create Bluetooth® pairing with ease
• Transfer files

An Example

Picture this: you’re reviewing photos from a weekend with friends on your BlackBerry smartphone, when your friend sees a great shot that they love. By simply opening the picture on your phone and tapping your friend’s device, you can easily share the photo. No complex menus, no extended period of time holding the phones together, and no hassle. Want to share multiple photos with a single tap? No problem! The transfer continues even after the phones are pulled apart after tapping, via a secure Bluetooth connection.

Okay, so how does it work?

The “magic” of BlackBerry Tag is that it’s using NFC to very quickly (and silently) setup a temporary secure Bluetooth connection between the two phones. In case you didn’t know, NFC is a wireless technology that allows for very low-rate data transmissions at a 4 cm range. It fills a very specific niche, but when coupled with a longer range and higher bandwidth protocol like Bluetooth, it becomes an extremely robust technology that lets you connect devices wirelessly for a brief period of time. BlackBerry Tag doesn’t go out to the cloud or use any data over a mobile network.

Is it Secure?

Staying true to their long history of upholding security standards, RIM made sure that the system is protected from end-to-end. Plus there is a certain level of inherent security with NFC that could be called security-by-proximity (i.e. you have to physically be close to the person you want to share content with) – but they went even further.

• By default, confirmation prompts appear when you attempt to send or receive using BlackBerry Tag. If you prefer, you can easily disable prompts within the preferences.
• Tapping to share is disabled when screens are off, preventing unwanted tagging from pockets or lost/stolen devices.
• AES-256 encryption is utilized over Bluetooth to make the sharing of data secure.

The below video shows the new application in operation:

Article re-posted from the Inside BlackBerry Blog