News

UK photo kiosks to get NFC upgrade

March 28, 2012

No more memory cards or flash drives, at least not for consumers in the U.K. looking to print photos from their smartphones. According to a post at NFC Times, Fujifilm group in the U.K. plans to introduce NFC technologies into its SmartPix photo kiosks so that consumers with NFC-enabled smartphones can simply wave their devices over the kiosks to print their photos.

The post said Fujifilm is working with U.K.-based Near Field Solutions to develop the "Tap 'n' Print" service on SmartPix kiosks placed in supermarkets, retail pharmacies, camera shops and retail locations. The plan is to deploy 3,500 kiosks  starting in May with further plans to introduce kiosks across Europe.

According to the report, apps available for NFC-enabled smartphones running Android and Blackberry operating systems will allow consumers to interact and pair with the kiosks and select photos to print. (Apple's iPhone mobile operating support doesn't yet support NFC technologies.) After pairing with the kiosk, standard pictures take about two seconds to print and high-resolution photos take six to seven seconds, the article said.

For more stories like this, visit the Photo Kiosk research center.