Android Beam has been with us since October of last year and now we might just be getting a look into how it came to be. A patent application made public today describes "sharing application states" across messaging apps, ongoing phone call status, as well as playback position for video and audio on multiple devices via NFC and "other" wireless communication. If you think the potential uses for the tech discussed in this filing from September of 2011 sound strikingly familiar, you're not the only one. Could this really be a part of Android Beam, or does Google have something else up its sleeve?

Google patent app describes NFC sharing between devices, gives us Beam deja-vu originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 01 May 2012 16:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.