Foursquare and Google have partnered up to test location-based, mobile check-ins at the convention center of Google I/O, the search giant's developer conference taking place this week in San Francisco.
Owners of smartphones equipped with near-field communication (NFC) technology, like the new Nexus S 4G,, will be able to check-in on Foursquare and receive a special Google I/O badge by tapping their phones against posters. Or if you, like most U.S. smartphone owners, don't have an NFC-enabled phone, you can scan a QR code on the poster instead.
"NFC is, obviously, a long way from being available everywhere and in all phones, but we're excited by some of the potential. Google I/O attendees: have fun tapping in," Foursquare wrote in a blog post.
Last April, Foursquare CEO Dennis Crowley hinted at some changes to the ways people can check-in. According to WebProNews, Crowley said at a conference that he wanted to make "predictive check-ins that are more passive than active"—enabling tap-ins would be one way. As WPN also notes, Crowley told All Things Digital that he didn't want Foursquare to get involved in mobile payment technology or TV show check-ins.
This isn't the first NFC-related tie-up between a handset maker and an Internet start-up. In April, Nokia and Rovio announced that "Angry Birds" will take advantage of NFC technology, and be embedded in all upcoming, NFC-enabled Nokia smartphones coming out this year.
In March, there were reports that Google was testing an NFC system in New York and San Francisco.