[seebee]

Hi guys, got a naive newbie question regarding Android's NFC capability. I know some Android phones can be used to write NFC tags. Some devices can also read data from a smart card. But can the Android NFC device write data on a blank contactless smart card (assuming the device/app knows the keys and the access bits on the card grant write access). Thanks a lot.

[Rukbat]

"Android" is a program running on Linix, it doesn't define hardware capability. It's like asking whether an Android phone can read fingerprints.

If the phone has the hardware to write smartcards, yes, it can write smartcards.

[seebee]

Thanks Rukbat. For example, Samsung Galaxy S3 is NFC capable. I know that there are a few card 'reader' apps. But I am unable to find any smart card 'writer' apps. I can find 'writer' apps for NFC Tags. Hence my question.. Can the NFC hardware, say in Samsung Galaxy S3 be used to write smart cards? Thanks

[Rukbat]

Writing to an NFC card s done by NFC - which is an electrical fild (which is why the range is so short - it's not an electromagnetic field, just electrical.) Writing to a smart card is with a physical contact to the card, like writing to a SIM card. You need a smart card reader (which is also a writer). There may be some that plug into a microUSB port, and there might be apps for them that run on an S3, but being able to send out an electrical field isn't going to do anything to a smart card. (NFC isn't even as much as an RFID, and a smart card is a lot more than an RFID.)