Research in Motion unveiled a new capability called BlackBerry Tag that lets users share information, photos and multimedia by tapping their handsets together. RIM co-CEO Jim Balsillie introduced the feature, which uses Near Field Communication technology, Monday at the GITEX conference in Dubai.
In addition to sharing larger files, BlackBerry Tag can be used to add friends to BlackBerry Messenger contact lists without sharing a phone number or other more personal information if the user prefers. RIM also announced plans to give software developers access to the API so they can incorporate “tap to share” functionality from within their own applications.
Android and Apple’s iPhone users will already be familiar with this concept through Bump Technology‘s apps, which have over 10 million active monthly users.
“BlackBerry Tag is an exciting and innovative feature that makes sharing contact information and multimedia content effortless and seamless,” Balsillie said. “BlackBerry Tag opens a new dimension to the BlackBerry platform that is powerful, simple and intuitive and we think it will be welcomed by both users and developers.”
The first RIM devices with NFC capabilities, which are required for BlackBerry Tag, are the BlackBerry Bold 9900/9930 (pictured) and BlackBerry Curve 9350/9360/9370 smartphones. It will be incorporated in the next BlackBerry 7 OS update, subject to network operator certifications.
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