Samsung TecTiles Review: NFC Tap Technology in Sticker Form Discussion

[Jamison Cush]

NFC is coming to a smartphone near you. Android already supports it, Windows Phone 8 and BlackBerry 10 will support it, and the iOS 6 Passbook is a strong sign NFC is coming to the iPhone.

Read the full content of this Article: Samsung TecTiles Review: NFC Tap Technology in Sticker Form

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[Varjak]

It seems like a brilliant idea; but the semi-proprietary nature of it is limiting. I don't think being limited (so far) to Android is a big deal though. First, iOS limits plenty of things to the iPhone (both intentionally and because some apps are only developed for it). Second, Android is becoming increasingly popular. Being able to tap a Tec Tile to join a Wifi network is a powerful incentive. As are some of the other features.

[LandSurveyor]

It looks like Samsung is trying to answer the question that users like me ask: "Why do I care about NFC?" There may be some potential for usefulness here but it really exists for credit card companies, banks and such, who are pushing it. It really doesn't give me anything I actually need.

[Adama D. Brown]

The problem I foresee is that NFC is actually less useful to the average person than something else which hasn't caught on yet, which is QR codes. Look at it this way. Anyone can print a QR code for the price of the paper and ink, while NFC tags are specially manufactured at a few bucks a piece. QR codes require only a camera, while NFC is far from universal. NFC depends on software support, QR is standardized text and URLs.

Sure, NFC is really cool when you tap your phone on a cash register and pay for stuff, but I have a hard time seeing the advantages to the customer over the near term.