Background:
Near Field Communication (NFC) has lately been considered to be a next generation technology with immense opportunities in providing short range communication using low power.
While still nascent  the growth of the smartphone market has been driving the NFC market. Studies state that the value of worldwide NFC transactions has crossed double digits (of $billion) in 2010  and is projected to reach about $74 billion by 2015.
However  while the major focus of the NFC technology has thus far been on the monetary transaction business  NFC is expected to penetrate high in the application segments like entertainment  digital content sharing  access control  transport  media and advertising and retail sectors.
One of the key advantages of the NFC technology over its counterparts is its ability to facilitate simple  efficient transactions using low power without the use of complex back-end systems. With a rapidly evolving mobile phone market and growing consumption  this technology can be applied successfully in various consumer based touch points.

Object:
An opportunity thus exists to create a simple and low-cost terminal device based on Near Field Communication (NFC) technology that facilitates accessing  reading  writing  editing and exchange of information / data stored on NFC-based smart cards or NFC tags.
The result: NFC POD - a simple and easy-to-use NFC based terminal device
that combines an NFC reader and writer to enable dual functions of reading information stored on NFC cards and instantly editing / appending the data through a manual input device

Summary of Invention:
The invention (NFC Pod) includes a simple pod-like terminal device that integrates a Near Field Communication (NFC) based contactless reader and writer with an input device. The input device consists of numeric and functional keys and two display screens. The invention is a ‘no-frills’  low-power consuming device  yet a wireless standalone device that enables quick and efficient exchange of data that may be stored on an NFC-based smart card or NFC tags. The device is thus a versatile technology tool as the NFC based data exchange does not necessarily demand a complex back-end storage and security infrastructure and communication ecosystem. The NFC Pod thus creates new opportunities for fast and simple data exchange scenarios and transactions.

Detailed Description:
Referring to the drawings  the detailed description of the invention (NFC Pod) is as follows –
1. As per figures 1.1 and 1.2 above  the invention (NFC Pod) integrates an NFC reader and writer device (A) with an input device. The input device includes numeric keys (B) for value-base inputs  function keys (C) for functional inputs like editing  appending  canceling  etc. and two display screens (E and F). The display screen (E) faces User 1 and displays relevant transaction details. Display screen (F) faces User 2 and displays relevant transaction details. A single micro-USB port (D) functions as a power source that allows easy charging.
2. The device will enable contactless communication and exchange of data between
the NFC reader (A) in the device and NFC smart cards (available with the User 2) or NFC tags.
3. Fig 1.1 shows the view of the device as seen by User 1
4. Fig 1.2 shows the view of the device as seen by User 2
5. Fig 2.1 shows the top view of the device  along with dimensions (in mm)
6. Figs 2.2 and 2.3 show the two side views of the device  along with dimensions (in mm)
7. Figs 3.1 and 3.2 show the front and back views of the device
8. Fig 4.1 shows the exploded view of the device and its key components. As illustrated  the device consists of internal components including a programmable NFC chip  battery pack  motherboard  micro USB port  input device circuit board and display components. The external components include the central body enclosure  bottom cover  NFC landing zone cover and the input device.
9. The NFC Pod device (the invention) is a ‘no-frills’ device that
a. Consumes low power with limited circuit based components
b. Yet is wireless and light-weight and therefore portable for different use-case scenarios
c. Has a battery pack inside the NFC reader housing that provides charge for wireless usage
d. Is simple to use and operate as it has a simple input device and an easy-to-read display
e. Has a single micro-USB port that functions as a power source for easy charging of the battery
f. Has an NFC programmable chip inside the NFC reader housing that communicates with NFC based devices like smart-cards and NFC tags (when placed in the chip’s range)
g. And therefore does not necessarily demand complex back-end storage and security infrastructure and communication technologies like Wi-Fi  Bluetooth  etc. for data transfer
10. The device is a combination of form and function
a. Light-weight and portable due to the ‘no-frills’ design
b. Ergonomic and easy-to-use for both the users due to -
i. the simple input device placed on a sloped yet easily accessible surface
ii. large NFC ‘landing zone’ configured to read NFC-based smart-cards and NFC-tags and
iii. two easy-to-read display screens  each facing the two users to allow simultaneous use by the two users
c. Low maintenance due to basic construction and build
11. The device is therefore simple and versatile to suit a wide variety of use-case scenarios and small businesses