Anyone using NFC tags with their Galaxy Nexus?

[mikestorm]

I think in the next week or so I'm going to buy a handful of NFC tags and start coming up with HOME, CAR, and WORK profiles for my phone.

Here's what I've been considering

HOME:
Wifi on, gps off, bluetooth off, ringer max volume

CAR:
wifi off, gps on, bluetooth on, 4g off (not sure if this is possible)

WORK:
wifi off, gps off, bluetooth off, ringer low volume, 4g off (not sure if this is possible)

Anyone with experience using NFC tags have any other suggestions and/or feedback of how well it works with the phone?

 

[kilofoxtrot]

Re: Anyone using NFC stickers with their Galaxy Nexus?

I remember reading about someone who is deving a app to work with NFC stickers. I cant remember where if it was on this board or XDA.

I love the idea.... is the app available to use? How does it work with the stickers? Where can I get it?

 

[kilofoxtrot]

Re: Anyone using NFC stickers with their Galaxy Nexus?

Found the app!

https://market.android.com/details?id=com.jwsoft.nfcactionlauncher

I think I am going to try it!

Where is the cheapest place to buy?

 

[TWISM]

I am going to checkout www.tagstand.com

Unless anyone has any other positive feedback on a place they got tags from.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

 

[mikestorm]

Re: Anyone using NFC stickers with their Galaxy Nexus?

I am going to checkout tagstand - Buy NFC tags, labels, and stickers here.

Unless anyone has any other positive feedback on a place they got tags from.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

That's where I plan on getting my tags. I've heard that name thrown around a bit.

There are different types of tags, which can hold different amounts of data. I'll need to do more research so I don't inadvertently buy the wrong type.

 

[anon(525422)]

With all the fuss over Google Wallet on the GN, I was just wondering if anyone had looked into other possibilities for NFC. A quick Google search turned up nothing except this thread, which I then realized was posted today! Proof that I should always check AC first.

Appreciate the links. I'm not sure how much practical use I'll really have for the tags right now but... it's tinkering ... it's just cool ... so I can't resist.

 

[stormed]

I don't really know much about NFC, but in order for it to work, don't you have to tap the device on the tag physically to trigger the tag event? I like the idea from the OP about having tags set your phone's profile when you're at certain places...but I would find it kind of annoying if I have to tap the phone on the tag when I got home. OF course, if that's not a requirement, then that would be a great convenience feature.

 

[mikestorm]

qdroid, you're right. You pretty much have to tap/hover over the tag to trigger the alternate profile. That said, for CAR or WORK, it's not a big deal. For CAR, put the tag near your car-dock or center console. For WORK, put the tag near your landline on your desk or wherever you normally charge your phone at work.

Hell, you could even have room specific tags where the bedroom tag (next to nightstand) mutes the phone so it doesn't wake you in the middle of the night.

To your point, the one tag that could be kind of a pain is the generic HOME tag. That said, the way I look at it:

• To maximize battery life, it's always a good idea to disable features we're not using
• I'm not very good at that. I always forget to enable BT when I get in my car or turn it off when I get home. Tags are a redundancy to help me remember, nothing more.
• Tapping a tag is easier than manually turning on/off/tweaking each of the settings manually
• If you forget to tap the tag when you come home. No harm no foul, just manually change the settings from where you're sitting
• Cool factor should not be ignored

 

[jackrv]

This is a very interesting idea! Please let us know how it works!

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

 

[kilofoxtrot]

Make sure the tags are pre-formatted for NDEF.

I see a bunch of "applications" to use these tags!

 

[bmoons]

that sounds like an awesome idea. can you link to instructions on how to setup the commands for the profiles and such? all i have seen online are options similar to QR codes: text, links, facebook, etc.

thanks!

 

[CBMC]

Make sure the tags are pre-formatted for NDEF.

I see a bunch of "applications" to use these tags!

If you are on 4.0.3 you won't have to worry about being pre formatted. The bug was fixed in 4.0.3. If you are on 4.0.2 then get NDEF formatted tags. (which tagstand does for .20 per tag)

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

 

[ScooberJake]

Cool idea, but I already use Locale for most of this. Doesn't really work for the car, but hopefully I can get a car dock with the pins to do that.

 

[andrew0812]

How is Locale for battery life? I had it on the OG but got rid of it a long time ago because of battery drain.

 

[kilofoxtrot]

Cool idea, but I already use Locale for most of this. Doesn't really work for the car, but hopefully I can get a car dock with the pins to do that.

I found Locale to be reliable about 75% of the time.... that isnt enough in my book.

 

[ScooberJake]

I found Locale to be reliable about 75% of the time.... that isnt enough in my book.

How is Locale for battery life? I had it on the OG but got rid of it a long time ago because of battery drain.

True, Locale is not 100% accurate. It's more like 95-98% for me (for location), but it will obviously depend on your individual situation. And the battery life was pretty bad when I first got it (also on my OG), but both battery life and reliability have increased with updates. I don't feel like the battery drain is limiting anymore. It's my favorite app, couldn't be without it. It's the main reason I didn't strongly consider a Windows Phone 7 device. Locale is Android only.

 

[ZRod]

btw I use NFC Task Launcher. Does everything ya'll are mentioning and also can launch Tasker actions. Bought my tags from tagsfordroid.com. 20 for $25. They cost slightly more but are a nice plastic with a sticky back and Andy on the front. Worth every penny and you get 768 bytes worth of memory which is much more then you will ever need. If you create a "Profile tag" through NFCTL all your actions are stored on your phone and only 27 bytes is used on the tag if you plan on getting smaller size tags.
I even have a tag next to my stereo that I just tap and bluetooth turns on and connects to it and starts playing my music from PowerAmp (which I also have the tag launch). Oh and I have mine set to play the Sonic game sound when you get a life so I feel like I am accomplishing something =D
Have one for home, by my bed, stereo, and school so far. I bought 20 just because.
Also, you don't have to pay extra to have them format the tags. I just used a Galaxy S at the Sprint store for my Galaxy Nexus. =P

Only downside is that every now and then the NFC doesn't want to seem to detect the chip and I have to put the phone to sleep then wake it up and usually that fixes it. Then again I have 109 apps on my phone and my 7 screens super customized with widgets and folders and apps so my phone is usually bogged down and has to reload the homescreen 9/10 times. That is my only giff with these phones, can't find anything to yell at my phone "HEY! DON'T YOU CLOSE THAT APP/PROCESS OR ELSE"

 

[bakerbert]

This is slick!!!

There could be a ton of uses for this.
Besides the cool personal uses, business could use it for people to:
Bookmark website
Facebook, twitter, Google plus likes/follow
4 square check in
WiFi access info

Just tap your phone here and your customers/patrons instantly have all of your info.

There are a ton of possibilities with this.

 

[anon(525422)]

This is slick!!!

There could be a ton of uses for this.

<snip>

Absolutely. NFC will start appearing in marketing campaigns soon enough -- on movie posters, in-store displays, stands at tradeshows, etc. -- the same way QR has attempted to elbow its way into marketing.

QR has kinda failed there, IMO. Partly because marketers haven't come up with anything clever to do with it besides directing you to the brand/product website (which usually has a simple URL anyway). And partly because it's a pain in the *** to unlock the phone, find and launch your rarely-used QR recognition app (assuming you've already thought ahead and installed one), mess around with angle and distance trying to get the whole QR code in the camera frame for a good scan, etc.

In comparison, NFC is a "frictionless" consumer experience: it requires almost no effort, literally just tap your phone against the tag, so there's liable to be far less resistance to adoption. People are far more likely to try tapping their phone against a poster than waste time taking awkward photos of QR codes.

Of course, NFC is still stuck in the catch-22 phase of adoption because of its additional hardware requirement: few phones have NFC because there are currently few practical applications... and there are few practical applications because there are too few phones with NFC! Hopefully the high profile topic of NFC payment options, and the big players behind it like Google and ISIS (i.e. VZW, AT&T, T-Mob), will give manufacturers more incentive to include NFC in devices so we can break out of the chicken/egg stalemate!

 

[sccpmusc26]

Why not use a location based app instead?