A mobile wireless device, such as a mobile wireless phone, is adapted based on a user's current abstracted contextual situation, where the context of a user is determined using devices enabled with near-field communication technology. Dynamic information of a user of a mobile device, such as the identity of his or her current environment, is determined using near-field communication, such as radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags. Static information regarding the user is also determined, where such static information can include the user's preferences regarding how the mobile device should adapt to certain environments. An abstracted contextual situation of the user is synthesized based on this dynamic and static information. One or more adaptation directives for the mobile device of the user are determined based on the user's abstracted contextual situation. The adaptation directives are implemented for the mobile device, without user interaction, or by instructing the user to appropriately configure the mobile device.