Smartphones are becoming the standard mobile phone now - and they pack more and more technology in them as the months go by.
But Samsung is looking back to an invention which pre-dates the technological age for their next innovative feature - and despite relying on little more than a humble sticker, it has some very clever uses.
The tech giant, which has just released the highly-praised Galaxy S3 Android phone, is now shipping 'TecTiles', which are postage-stamp sized stickers that you can adorn to your desk, your furniture, your walls - or anywhere.
Embedded in each sticker is an 'NFC' chip, a new communication chip which is beginning to appear on most high-end phones.
TecTiles: The new technology can help your phone operate in the real-world and follow your instructions without pressing a button
Touching your phone next to one of these stickers can perform almost any action on your phone - and by doing so, you can make phone very much at home in your house or office.
For instance, if you have a wireless internet connection at home which your friends use when they pop round, you could discreetly place a sticker by your front door.
As guests arrive, they could touch their phone to the sticker, and instantly connect to your wifi without any fuss about searching for the network or scrambiling around for a password.
Placing a sticker in your car can let your phone know when its on the move
In the car, a sticker on your dashboard could activate a bluetooth in-car speaker, start playing music, and open a Google Navigation for directions.
Or a sticker on your desk at work could automatically tell your phone to connect to your work wi-fi, and put your phone on silent so colleagues are not disturbed by your Lady Gaga ringtone.
Another use could be to embed your business card details on a sticker - and then you can easily give your details to people with an NFC-equipped phone, like the S3 or HTC One X.
Back at home, another sticker on your table could tell your phone to text your partner saying 'I'm home', connect to your home wifi, and then start streaming music.
What is useful about the technology is that it is extensible, and app-agnostic. For instance, any app developer will be able to adapt their app to accept 'sticker' commands, meaning a variety of currently-unconsidered of uses will emerge over time.
The stickers are available in the U.S. for $15 (£10) for a pack of five, and should be available in Europe soon
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