I think this is the coolest new feature, and I hope all new phones have NFC. RFID tags scan way quicker than QR codes, and don't rely on decent lighting (or an ugly code).

Further, NFC means the device also has it's own RFID tag. Visa: please replace my credit card with an app. Your card readers already have the near-field hardware!

There's a similar system already in place in Japan, it's quite impressive. You can link a credit card to your phone and actually use it like a ticket at train gates, or buy stuff and pay the bills at convenience stores by scanning the phone. Adoption seems to be a bit slow though, probably because of the risk of linking a phone to a credit card, and sheer habit.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osaifu-Keitai

Printing something on a label/piece of paper is still orders of magnitude cheaper than embedding a RFID tag...

Also, Gingerbread does not support writing from the device (i.e., your phone cannot act as its own RFID tag), I'm supposing the hardware support is there, though.

I wonder if it supports NFC such that I can replace all my swipe cards and it can identifying itself based on GPS. That would be pretty handy.

I see what you did there.