Several days ago, the leading independent provider of semiconductors for the smart card and RFID industry, AdvanIDe, introduced a mobile app that can scan and display NFC tag content on Samsung Galaxy S III smartphones.
The app – NFC TagExplorer – enables customers to share and analyze tag contents so they can explore the IC technology and IC type that is being used for tags or contactless cards. It also reads all NFC-compliant tags, including those using MIFARE®1 technology.
"With NFC phones getting a wide market acceptance, we wanted to introduce a tool, that enables our clients and partners to be able read and share tag contents and IC information using NFC-enabled smartphones," said Kintu Shah, Senior Technical Sales manager with AdvanIDe.
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Shah added that as its customers often pass cards and tags to them with the request to identify the IC-type and manufacturer, this is particularly important. Its clients can now read details of the IC by themselves thanks to the NFC TagExplorer App. Even more, the Samsung Galaxy SIII handset has been chosen as the industry's most popular NFC-enabled smartphone and the first mobile device for its NFC TagExplorer app.
The AdvanIDe NFC TagExplorer app takes advantage of the company's industry-leading expertise in RFID component and transponder technology. Running on the Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) platform, it uses the platform's integrated NFC stack along with NFC classes on Java. To identify the type of tags that are being used in applications such as smart posters and labels or contactless smart cards, customers can use the NFC TagExplorer.
From a variety of leading chip suppliers, the app currently supports about 20 different IC types. Users also can review the data in a personalized NFC tag and use this information to program their own tags. Moreover, in order to incorporate commands into NFC applications, users can scan the tag to see what NFC Data Exchange Format (NDEF) commands have been employed.
Edited by
Allison Boccamazzo 
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