I thought I'd order some smart tags to see what the first decent NFC apication I've come across can do.
Initially I was pretty impressed. Turn on NFC, wave the phone near a tag and Smart Connect pops up asking what you want the tag to trigger. Each event in Smart Connect has begin and end actions - begin is triggered by NFC detecting a tag and end is handled on the phone when you stop the event (there is Smart Connect item in the notification bar to make this really easy.)
So far so good, it's all really easy and slick to use.
The only problem is that the NFC detection only currently works if the phone screen is unlocked and on. This means if I want to leave a tag in the car to switch on my BT and start my navigation app, then I can't just get in and swipe the phone near it... I've got to unlock the phone first! Niggle!
For a first outing, this is still good so hopefully Sony will offer the ability to use tags without unlocking the phone at some point in the future.
Just thought I'd share in case anyone else is thinking of making a purchase.
On sgs3 it was the same as far as I remember and some custom roms had option in settings to work while screen off. Hopefully, for you, it will be ported/done for Xperia T also (aokp had that option and some other cm10 derivates)
Sent from my LT30p
If you want to take better advantage of NFC's potential, I'd recommend buying some generic tags and downloading NFC Task Launcher from the Play store. Generic tags are cheaper, has higher capacity, and NFC Task Launcher can do a lot more than Smart Connect. Combine it with Tasker and you can do some seriously cool ****.
yesyesimanoob said:
If you want to take better advantage of NFC's potential, I'd recommend buying some generic tags and downloading NFC Task Launcher from the Play store. Generic tags are cheaper, has higher capacity, and NFC Task Launcher can do a lot more than Smart Connect. Combine it with Tasker and you can do some seriously cool ****.
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Click to collapse
Where can you get generic tags, any link maybe?
If my phone could trigger actions without being "under my actual monitoring" (On and unlocked) in reaction to NFC tags, I 'd consider that quite unsafe.
At least, there should be some kind of restriction system, like : you can trigger actions only on this particular list of "declared secure by the user" tags.
Maybe the software Yesyesimanoob (what a funny user name, sorry) speaks of can do it, i don't know.
Nickola
yesyesimanoob said:
If you want to take better advantage of NFC's potential, I'd recommend buying some generic tags and downloading NFC Task Launcher from the Play store. Generic tags are cheaper, has higher capacity, and NFC Task Launcher can do a lot more than Smart Connect. Combine it with Tasker and you can do some seriously cool ****.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Had a bit of a scare when my mate who has an SGS3 swiped his phone near one of my tags and his NFC task launcher detected and reprogrammed my tag so I couldn't use it.
Luckily Smart Tag Maker on the Play Store can fix them but it's a bit crap if just anyone can reprogramme them.
vid200 said:
Where can you get generic tags, any link maybe?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I get mine from tagsfordroid.com (US). I don't really know international sources well enough to suggest a reliable one, sorry, but the tagsfordroid.com ones are just rebranded "Mifare Classic" tags, so you might want to look for that. They have about 700+ bytes of usable capacity, so you can put more on a single tag than the Sony ones (48 bytes).
---------- Post added at 04:27 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:24 PM ----------
emuX said:
Had a bit of a scare when my mate who has an SGS3 swiped his phone near one of my tags and his NFC task launcher detected and reprogrammed my tag so I couldn't use it.
Luckily Smart Tag Maker on the Play Store can fix them but it's a bit crap if just anyone can reprogramme them.
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Click to collapse
Not sure about the Smart Tags as I don't have one, but NFC Task Launcher can make a generic tag read-only, so once you've programmed it, no one (including yourself) can reprogram it ever again.
---------- Post added at 04:31 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:27 PM ----------
nickola said:
If my phone could trigger actions without being "under my actual monitoring" (On and unlocked) in reaction to NFC tags, I 'd consider that quite unsafe.
At least, there should be some kind of restriction system, like : you can trigger actions only on this particular list of "declared secure by the user" tags.
Maybe the software Yesyesimanoob (what a funny user name, sorry) speaks of can do it, i don't know.
Nickola
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You have to be rooted to get NFC to work while the screen is off, and that's only available for certain devices right now, with a custom APK. Maybe it will come to the Xperia T eventually, who knows.
nickola said:
If my phone could trigger actions without being "under my actual monitoring" (On and unlocked) in reaction to NFC tags, I 'd consider that quite unsafe.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed that blanket access for all tags would be bad so some sort of control would be required (e.g. You can enable certain tags to work without unlocking the phone - such as the Blue (car) tag.)
It is really cool but I have no idea how can it be used to make me convenient because before you scan the nfc tag, you should open your screen and unlock it.
niuzhd said:
It is really cool but I have no idea how can it be used to make me convenient because before you scan the nfc tag, you should open your screen and unlock it.
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Click to collapse
Works best when you want to trigger multiple actions. For example, when I get into my car, I swipe a tag to activate in-car mode, which involves:
- Maximize media volume
- Lower notification volume
- Activate gesture media controls (via a Tasker profile, or alternatively you can try the app Wave Control for this)
- Activate SMS reader/auto-responder
Swipe the same tag again before exiting car to disable car mode.
yesyesimanoob said:
Works best when you want to trigger multiple actions. For example, when I get into my car, I swipe a tag to activate in-car mode, which involves:
- Maximize media volume
- Lower notification volume
- Activate gesture media controls (via a Tasker profile, or alternatively you can try the app Wave Control for this)
- Activate SMS reader/auto-responder
Swipe the same tag again before exiting car to disable car mode.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you using Smart Connect or NFC task launcher? (My smart connect doesn't switch the options off when you swipe a 2nd time.)
emuX said:
Are you using Smart Connect or NFC task launcher? (My smart connect doesn't switch the options off when you swipe a 2nd time.)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
NFC Task Launcher. It has an option to create a "switch", which will alternate between two series of tasks each time you swipe it. Of course this means you're writing more data to the tag, which the Sony Smart Tags are probably too small to contain and hence Smart Connect doesn't provide the option.
I ordered these: http://www.amazon.com/NFC-Tag-Bundl...qid=1350520268&sr=8-1&keywords=tags+for+droid
They came quickly despite not being Prime Eligible. The quality is very nice and I look forward to testing them out when I get my phone later this month,
2 pices:
Ebay link
In case anyone is interested, I worked out how to write protect my Smart tags so they can't be hijacked by anyone who wants to write to them.
First, you need to read the existing content. (I used NFC Tag Writer by NXP, as it allows you to copy the content straight to the clipboard.) I then used NFC Writer by Tagstand to write the same content again but with the write protect option set. I had to write the content twice to be able to write protect - first in the normal way (no option to protect) then again via history with the option to lock in top right of the screen.
I've now locked all mine so they will always be the correct IDs for SmartConnect.
nickola said:
If my phone could trigger actions without being "under my actual monitoring" (On and unlocked) in reaction to NFC tags, I 'd consider that quite unsafe.
At least, there should be some kind of restriction system, like : you can trigger actions only on this particular list of "declared secure by the user" tags.
Maybe the software Yesyesimanoob (what a funny user name, sorry) speaks of can do it, i don't know.
Nickola
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Click to collapse
It's called "Turn NFC Off". It's built into every Android with NFC.
dragon_76 said:
It's called "Turn NFC Off". It's built into every Android with NFC.
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Click to collapse
Not exactly. If NFC is OFF (and it definitely is on my phone), there is no reaction to any smart tag.
What I meant is, that there should be a possibility to specify a list of "user tags", the same way you can declare a Mac Addresses list on your WiFi access point/ISP router.
Anyway I've given up on using NFC.
Nickola
Smart Tags are much more beautiful than general ones...But may I ask how much u spent on them?I found them very cheap in local stores and thought that they were not original ones.
nickola said:
Not exactly. If NFC is OFF (and it definitely is on my phone), there is no reaction to any smart tag.
What I meant is, that there should be a possibility to specify a list of "user tags", the same way you can declare a Mac Addresses list on your WiFi access point/ISP router.
Anyway I've given up on using NFC.
Nickola
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Click to collapse
NFC doesn't serialise chips. Any "user tag" could be cloned, passive devices being much more difficult than active. RFID, and NFC by extension, were designed to be simple. The fact that companies or individuals have chosen to use the technology in a way that may compromise security is irrelevant to the technology. Its biggest security feature is that it requires physical access within just a few centimetres, and it requires one device to be "smart" and know what to do with any information in a tag.
You can always put a little tinfoil hat on your phone to match your own...
To be honest, I never pay much attention to Smart Tag until I saw this thread, LOL
The title pretty much says it all, it was my favorite feature and now it's gone! Can we maybe pull it from an S5 and get it on this phone?
+1. I miss that feature from my last Samsung also
Not sure how it works but it should go like decompile the apps, edit the codes integrating it with the sensor, decompile the apps but it's not an easy metohd
I got myself this cover:
http://www.sonymobile.com/global-en/products/accessories/style-cover-window-scr42/
i now I cannot seem to find a widget or an app of some sort that would allow to call at least my favourite contacts (if the whole phone book is a problem) with the cover closed. There is an app for the clock, calendar, music, but no contacts? Am I missing it, is there a third party app? It is somewhat annoying to open the cover just to make a call.
Never heard about such, but this would be good for me too. On other hand almost used to open cover for calls.
I didn't even consider that it would not be available. It's the main Phone function. And usually nobody needs a 5 inch screen to make a call. On the other hand my mums S6 has this and am even more frustrated. Hopefully somebody will soon come up with something.
I've got the SCR42. I agree that the speed dial widget would be a great idea. However, I I don't think it would work because the widget system with this cover seems rather pointless to me. If you try to tap on any of the widgets it tells you to open the cover anyway to get to the app, so even if there was a speed-dial widget you would have to touch it and then open the cover to unlock and then it would take you to speed dial.
I assume that this is for security reasons but makes the SCR42 widget idea rather pointless.
Not True. Camera works. Also it is not impossible to make calls with cover closed. My car Bluetooth does it all the time.
Those with the src-42 have issues when answering with the cover closed? The "Swype to hang" button on screen keeps going forwards and backwards bleeping as well. Should not the screen go off straight away when nearing it to the ear?
Once you've saved a screen memo (like a shopping list in my case - I saved it by accident by inserting the s-pen), can you still get it back on your screen off memo? Now when I take my s-pen out with the screen off, I get a blank memo. I really wish there was a way to get it back to the screen off memo so I could use it while shopping without using much battery or opening my phone. Thoughts?
you can pin it clicking pin icon, recall later double clicking the pin, but if your main concern is battery, well the phone is running, screen is on regardless if it's full on or in screen off memo mode and background apps are running, so not much of a difference. You're better off picking up dark theme and dark wallpapers and have lower battery usage screen off or not. If you want to be really scientific about it, download program to monitor and record battery usage, write on paper what time what mode your phone was and what was battery drain exactly and compare. Personally, I think there are much more effective ways to save battery, like above mentioned dark theme or manually killing unused apps.
YDMV
pete4k said:
you can pin it clicking pin icon, recall later double clicking the pin, but if your main concern is battery, well the phone is running, screen is on regardless if it's full on or in screen off memo mode and background apps are running, so not much of a difference. You're better off picking up dark theme and dark wallpapers and have lower battery usage screen off or not. If you want to be really scientific about it, download program to monitor and record battery usage, write on paper what time what mode your phone was and what was battery drain exactly and compare. Personally, I think there are much more effective ways to save battery, like above mentioned dark theme or manually killing unused apps.
YDMV
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But once it's been saved and it's only found in your Samsung notes, can you still pin it? I don't see the option.
A black screen would certainly be way less battery than the white one, but really it's about convenience. I can not even unlock my screen and still get to my grocery list versus having to unlock it. Small thing I know, but it is definitely more convenient when pinned.
Sorry, I don't know if and how you can pin already saved note to AOD display.
pete4k said:
Sorry, I don't know if and how you can pin already saved note to AOD display.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Seems like you can't.
That's annoying. It's as if you can't put your s-pen away for fear of the auto save.
I think the original idea was to have a way to make quick hand note, like writing somebody's phone number you just met on the street, or quick memo at the meeting and I used it in such a way many times, nothing more. You can pin saved note to the home screen and reach it there easily, after opening the phone. One reason your idea may never be implemented could be security, you never know what important info people could have there and having that info so visible may be against current trend of securing things. You may use it for nothing more than shopping list, but for example I used it to write complicated passwords to bank accounts and computer networks etc.
Also, it seems screen off memo is Samsung Note series exclusive feature, so it may be trial and error for them to figure what exactly people want and do with it. Taking away Action memo and it's advanced features, which was available on older Notes and no more suggests to me they still trying to figure it out.
pete4k said:
I think the original idea was to have a way to make quick hand note, like writing somebody's phone number you just met on the street, or quick memo at the meeting and I used it in such a way many times, nothing more. You can pin saved note to the home screen and reach it there easily, after opening the phone. One reason your idea may never be implemented could be security, you never know what important info people could have there and having that info so visible may be against current trend of securing things. You may use it for nothing more than shopping list, but for example I used it to write complicated passwords to bank accounts and computer networks etc.
Also, it seems screen off memo is Samsung Note series exclusive feature, so it may be trial and error for them to figure what exactly people want and do with it. Taking away Action memo and it's advanced features, which was available on older Notes and no more suggests to me they still trying to figure it out.
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Click to collapse
I agree, in general.
I saw people suggesting in reviews that it could be used as a grocery list and I liked the idea. I saw one review showing someone using it at the store actually. Maybe it was staged.