X

Photos: Caen's NFC pilot in action

How the French have embraced the wireless lifestyle
By Jo Best, Contributor
40148712-1-abbaye.jpg
1 of 5 Jo Best/ZDNET

How the French have embraced the wireless lifestyle

The city of Caen in Normandy is the home of the largest near field communications (NFC) trial. Some 200 of the town's inhabitants have been using the technology in their everyday lives, at shops and around a dozen other locations in the city.

The Abbaye des Hommes, once home to William the Conqueror's men, has gone all high-tech for the trial with its own NFC point.

Photo credit: Jo Best

40148712-2-abbaye-signage.jpg
2 of 5 Jo Best/ZDNET

Here a plaque outside the Abbaye offers tourist information using NFC.

If a tourist places their NFC-equipped mobile against the Flytag logo – in the upper left hand corner of the sign – information about the Abbaye will be transmitted directly to the phone, either by phone call or SMS.

Photo credit: Jo Best

40148712-3-caen-signage.jpg
3 of 5 Jo Best/ZDNET

This Monoprix supermarket in the town centre will also be experimenting with the technology and has already put up signs to let customers know they can pay with their mobiles.

Photo credit: Jo Best

40148712-4-duchelet.jpg
4 of 5 Jo Best/ZDNET

Laurent Duchelet is just one of the triallists who uses his NFC mobile to pay for his weekly shop by placing his phone on a reader by the till.

Duchelet told silicon.com, for a non-techie, he's a fan of the "practical" technology.

Photo credit: Jo Best

40148712-5-caen-parking.jpg
5 of 5 Jo Best/ZDNET

Another application that Duchelet uses every day is this parking facility, which issues NFC users with virtual tickets and charges them for their stay.

Photo credit: Jo Best

Related Galleries

Holiday wallpaper for your phone: Christmas, Hanukkah, New Year's, and winter scenes
Holiday lights in Central Park background

Related Galleries

Holiday wallpaper for your phone: Christmas, Hanukkah, New Year's, and winter scenes

21 Photos
Winter backgrounds for your next virtual meeting
Wooden lodge in pine forest with heavy snow reflection on Lake O'hara at Yoho national park

Related Galleries

Winter backgrounds for your next virtual meeting

21 Photos
Holiday backgrounds for Zoom: Christmas cheer, New Year's Eve, Hanukkah and winter scenes
3D Rendering Christmas interior

Related Galleries

Holiday backgrounds for Zoom: Christmas cheer, New Year's Eve, Hanukkah and winter scenes

21 Photos
Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Kia EV6: Electric vehicle extravaganza
img-8825

Related Galleries

Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Kia EV6: Electric vehicle extravaganza

26 Photos
A weekend with Google's Chrome OS Flex
img-9792-2

Related Galleries

A weekend with Google's Chrome OS Flex

22 Photos
Cybersecurity flaws, customer experiences, smartphone losses, and more: ZDNet's research roundup
shutterstock-1024665187.jpg

Related Galleries

Cybersecurity flaws, customer experiences, smartphone losses, and more: ZDNet's research roundup

8 Photos
Inside a fake $20 '16TB external M.2 SSD'
Full of promises!

Related Galleries

Inside a fake $20 '16TB external M.2 SSD'

8 Photos