RFID Coming To A Cell Phone Near You

Roland Piquepaille writes "In "RFID Goes Mobile", Red Herring reports that Nokia has quietly launched last month the first RFID-enabled cell phone. The Mobile RFID Kit will be available later this year and only for the 5140 model. This accessory allows the user to easily launch services and conveniently access phone functions simply by touching the phone to an RFID tag. The phone accesses the RFID tag data when an RFID reader emits a short-range radio signal that powers a microchip on the tag, allowing the ID information and other stored data to be read. Nokia doesn't intend to sell this kit to ordinary consumers like you and me. Instead, the RFID kit is designed to extend the mobility of workforce already on the move, such as security guards or maintenance people. This overview contains other details and references about the kit."

Comments

It's just two, two, two devices in one.

[plover]

So they're incorporating an RFID reader in a phone. This is similar to the barcode scanners for Palm devices that came out a few years ago. I had a couple of them (evaluations for work) but never found a compelling personal use for them.

This is novel in that it contains a portable "user-level" RFID scanner. (The phone bit is simply an already existant battery box.) So, now the questions are: what can end users do with it, and can we hack it?

One thing to keep in mind is that with the small antenna inherent to a cell phone footprint, this will pretty much be an "almost-contact" scanner with a range of centimeters, not meters.

Not suited for consumer use

[jackalope]

The RFID tag reading capability provided by the phone will not read the RFID tags that WalMart is requiring for it's top suppliers next year.

The Walmart tags are EPC class 1v2 compliant tags that operate in the 915mhz range. The Nokia phone reads ISO-14443A tags that operate in the 13.56mhz range. The two technologies are very very different.

The EPC tags are relatively inexpensive (and getting cheaper all the time). They have about 128 bits of internal nvram and can be read from about 1-3 meters.

The ISO-14443A tags are expensive. They've got large amounts (multiple KB) of internal NVRAM, some have embedded operating systems and file systems for the NVRAM. You won't see companies using 14443 tags to tag merchandise anytime soon.

Another problem with the 14443 tags is that it is based on a fuzzy ISO standard. The cross vendor compatibility between compliant 14443 tags and compliant 14443 readers is not good at all. For instance, a Philips 14443 reader may not be able to correctly read a STMicro 14443 chip, even though they both are 14443 compliant. Basically, ISO makes vague standards so that many companies can claim compliance, but none have to compete with in an open marketplace.

I think the Nokia phone will be useful for closed loop RFID applications (one where the tag is not required to interoperate across multiple companies).