Recently I wrote an article an NFC architecture and how to integrated into a mobile device. Today I'd like to show by the re-engineering the Nokia 3220 NFC, how such an implemented could look like.

The Nokia 3220 actually was the first "real" NFC phone from my point of view, as it was capable of all three operating modes: card-emulation, reader/writer & peer-2-peer. The phone was issued in 2005 and came with a special shell that included the NFC functionality. There was also the 5140 that came with an RFID shell, but that model only supported the reader/writer mode.

The NFC functionally is not integrated into the handset itself, but comes in a separate shell. The shell communicates with the handset through a 5-pin connector.

Inside the shell there is a PCB that holds an NFC-Chip from NXP (a PN511) and the secure element (SmartMX). There is also a microprocessor which seams to handle the communication between the NFC Chip and the handset.

If found a picture for the hole system here.

NFC Operating Modes

Reader/Writer Mode: Operating in this mode, the NFC device can read and alter data stored in NFC compliant passive (without battery) transponders. Such tags can be found on SmartPoster e. g., allowing the user to retrieve additional information by reading the tag with the NFC device. Depending on the data stored on the tag, the NFC device takes an appropriate action without any user interaction. If a URI was found on the tag, the handset would open a web browser for example.

Card Emulation: An NFC device can also act as smart card (ISO 14443) after being switched into card emulation mode. In this case an external reader cannot distinguish between a smart card and an NFC device. This mode is useful for contactless payment and ticketing applications for example. Actually, an NFC enable handset is capable of storing different contactless smartcard applications in one device.

Peer-to-Peer: The NFC peer-to-peer mode (ISO 18092) allows two NFC enabled devices to establish a bidirectional connection to exchange contacts, Bluetooth pairing information or any other kind of data ISO18092. Cumbersome pairing processes are a thing of the past thanks to NFC technology. To establish a connection a client (NFC peer-to-peer initiator) is searching for a host (NFC peer-to-peer target) to setup a connection. Then the NDEF (NFC Data Exchange Format) is used to transmit the data.