UPM RFID launches new NFC tags after NXP NFC tag announcement

UPM RFID launches new NFC tags after NXP NFC tag announcement

Hot on the heels of the NXP Semiconductors NTAG203 announcement, UPM RFID has launched its new line of NFC tags that incorporate the new technology. If we were the suspicious types, we would swear that these press releases were timed to coincide with one another. UPM RFID announced this morning that they have an updated portfolio of NFC tags that embrace the NXP NTAG203 technology across their product lines. Products that utilize the new sensitive NFC tags include the UPM BullsEye, UPM Circus and UPM MiniTrack. Each of the new NFC tags plays nicely with the new NXP NTAG203 chip and offer 1300 bits /144 bytes of user memory, and we are told also offers “significantly improved performance and faster response times” when reading NFC tags with an NFC phone.

“UPM RFID has been one of the first companies to address the NFC tag market in partnership with NXP, showing a long and growing track record. We are very pleased now to see UPM RFID launching three products with the new NTAG203 so quickly, giving customers an excellent selection of NFC tags which hit the sweet spot of good read range, sufficient memory and small to medium size. UPM RFID’s design and mass-volume manufacturing capabilities clearly put them at the forefront to address the quickly growing market for NFC tags,” says Chris Feige, General Manager of Tags&Labels, Identification Business, NXP Semiconductors.

UPM RFID new NFC tag portfolio utilizes the new NXP NTAG203 for better reading and improved distances

“UPM RFID’s new NFC tags are compliant with ISO 14443A and NFC Forum Type 2 Tag applications, including smart posters and stickers, connection handover, Bluetooth simple pairing, WiFi protected set-up, call request, SMS, and goods and devices authentication,” the company explains.

UPM BullsEye™, NFC

·         Antenna size Ø 35 mm / 1.4”

UPM Circus™, NFC

·         Antenna size Ø 23 mm / 0.9”

UPM MiniTrack™, NFC

·         Antenna size 14 x 31 mm / 0.6 x 1.2”

As you can see, the above UPM MiniTrack NFC tags have a reduced antenna diameter measuring just 14 x 31 mm. This will make the NFC tag perfect for business cards and small items. As NFC takes off, NFC tags will be required for more and more situations. The better read capabilities of UPM RFID’s NFC tags will effectively make the process of reading NFC tags more frictionless than has been the case in the past.  That is not to say past MIFARE NFC tags were bad, just that new NFC tags using the NXP NTAG203 will be better.

We are officially naming UPM RFID the 100 pound Gorilla of NFC tags after they picked up the phrase from our last post on the company and re-tweeted it stating “there is a 100 pound gorilla”. Who are we to deny a Kong-type NFC tag company their nickname? The company’s new line up of NFC tags further cements their position as one of the world’s biggest sellers of NFC tags, and with today’s announcement, the humble NFC tag and NFC IC just got a little more usable and efficient. When you combine this news with last week’s Microsoft announcement of NFC support in Windows 8, you can see how NFC’s profile is being raised and how we are on track to become a society of “internet of things” dwellers where many products and services we use today utilize NFC tags.

“We’re excited to renew our well-known UPM BullsEye™, UPM Circus™ and UPM MiniTrack™ products with new NXP NTAG203 IC as the first inlay manufacturer to do so. These products meet the requirements of the most popular NFC applications like social media check-ins, NFC-based games and advertisement apps. With their high performance, these new NFC products are also a good match for electronics pairing applications where embedding the inlay is a must. In fact, UPM RFID’s NTAG203 NFC products are already being qualified by the leading smartphone manufacturers,” says Mikko Nikkanen, Business Development Director at UPM RFID.

UPM RFID will start shipping the new NFC tags in volume in November 2011 from UPM RFID’s converting and distribution partners worldwide. Samples of their new NFC tags are available now, so contact them if you have a project in mind.