Tasker is the single most advanced app available for Android.  With it, you can do many things that you'd otherwise download lots of different apps to do.  But it can be a little complicated to learn and use.  I've been using Tasker for several years and finally decided to create a Tasker 101 Tutorial Video Series.  If you pair Tasker with an NFC App that can launch Tasker Tasks (like Llama) then you open up Tasker capabilities to be used with NFC.  Anyway, if you're interested in really diving into Tasker, then check out the series!

Well, the new iPhones might have brought some cool surprises, but they did NOT include NFC, though it had been speculated by many that they might.  My theory is that Apple wants to perfect their own proprietary version of NFC before implementing it into their phone.  You know, something that is like NFC or even is NFC but that only works with iPhones.  They have a history of doing that and while us Android Geeks scoff at the fact that their phones can't use a standard micro usb charger like every other smart phone on the planet, the millions of iPhone owners don't seem to care one bit and don't mind forking out extra money to get the "special" Apple compatible chargers.

Perhaps they see the potential to increase profit through NFC if they incorporate it in such a way as to make it proprietary.  Or perhaps, they just want to make sure it can do things up to Apple standards before it's integrated.  Who knows what those guys and gals are up to.  But let's hope they see the advantage in not fragmenting the electronic world any more than it already is and decide to adhere to the NFC Forum Protocols for NFC.

You might have thought you already knew everything you could do with NFC Tags, but did you know that you can create an NFC Tag that triggers different task depending on where you are when you tap it?  That's right, in this video I show you how to use the amazing app Llama which includes both NFC and Location Based triggers to trigger different events on your phone with the same NFC Tag depending on where you are.  Check it out, create your own, then go show it off to your friends!

The video below from YouTube shows the new Android version of the famous BlackBerry Messenger Service.  My first "smart phone" was a BlackBerry and BBM was definitely one of the coolest services.  It will be interesting to see if it is any better than the myriad of similar services (such as FaceBook Messenger) that already exist for Android.  Early in this video the NFC feature is demonstrated which allows two BBM users to connect/share BBM Contact info by tapping their phones.  

So, I don't know what possessed Google (or any other company) to use the size of a device in it's name because obviously there will be other versions of tablets in the same size.  Case in point the new Nexus 7, also known as the 2013 Nexus 7.   It's still called Nexus 7 just like the original but it's not the same.  Besides the other differences, the NEW 2013 Nexus 7 has a Broadcom NFC Chipset so it is not fully compatible with Mifare Classic NFC tags while the original/old/2012 Nexus 7 IS fully compatible with Mifare Classic Tags.  This will undoubtedly lead to a lot of confusion with owners of both version of the tablet since it's the same name but two completely different tablets!

Here's the 2 most important points:  

1. The ORIGINAL 2012 Nexus 7 is compatible with Mifare Classic NFC Tags AND NTAG203 & Topaz 512 Tags.  
   
2. The NEW 2013 Nexus 7 is fully compatible ONLY with NTAG203 & Topaz 512 Tags.

For more information on compatibility issues see our NFC Tags Compatibility Issues Page.