RFID

QUICKLINKS: Success and troubles hit Palm's Profits; Staples expands reusable RFID;

Mon, 17 Dec 2007 06:59:55 -0500

> Success, and troubles, hit Palm's profits. Article

> OTA grows up. Article

> Staples expands reusable RFID. Article

> Intel system on chip for mobile. Article

Mobile phone payments next

Mon, 26 Nov 2007 06:59:58 -0500

The days of the mobile phone acting primarily as a tool for voice communications are taking another step into the past with the promise of the phone as an e-commerce tool moves closer. Using technology already being trialled in Japan, and similar to that used in point-of-sale terminals at which you wave your RFID-enabled credit card, your cell phone becomes the medium of payment for purchases made at a wide variety of merchants. Cool, huh? Well, it could certainly be convenient, and teenagers would almost certainly jump immediately to embrace the method, but some experts are still waiting to be convinced that the cell phone can be as secure as more traditional payment methods.

For more on cell phones as electronic wallets:
- Read the new technology article at Mobile-Tech-Today

Small-scale RFID apps

Mon, 19 Nov 2007 06:59:57 -0500

The news is all about large RFID deployments, but more and more companies are choosing to build small-scale RFID projects, many tied to enterprise applications, to get started in the RFID world. While not every organization can roll out RFID the way that Wal-Mart has, even small companies can look at simple passive RFID applications for inventory, asset control, and personnel management, among other tasks.

For more on small RFID apps:
- Read the new trend article at NetworkWorld

QUICKLINKS: Super-fast WiFi; Keep RFID safe;

Tue, 04 Sep 2007 06:59:55 -0400

> Super-fast WiFi. Article

> LG iPhone competitor. Article

> EarthLink layoffs. Article

> Keep RFID safe. Article

Surging active RFID

Mon, 13 Aug 2007 06:59:58 -0400

There's no doubt that RFID is big and is getting bigger when it comes to managing inventories in enterprises both large and small. Now comes word that active RFID---which uses a battery-powered tag for active data transmission--is the fastest-growing segment of the market. According to IDTechEx, a UK-based consulting firm, active RFID will grow from about 13 percent of the market to over 26 percent within the next 10 years. Healthcare is the vertical pushing the active-RFID envelope the most, but the biggest driver may simply be that active RFID devices and systems are becoming more and more capable as time goes on.

For more on the active RFID surge:
- read the news article at NetworkWorld

Staples goes reusable with RFID tags

Sun, 10 Jun 2007 20:01:37 -0400

Companies like RFID because of all the advantages electronic tracking can have when used in appropriate applications. The biggest problem has been the cost of tags--it has been assumed that the cost is such that they only make sense on products that cost $100 or more. However, Staples has begun an experiment with its vendors on RFID tags that follow the product through shipping and inventory control, but are then removed at the point of sale for re-use. The re-usability should let the five-to eight-dollar tags pay for themselves by the end of their anticipated five-year lifespan. With RFID tags getting smaller and becoming easier to embed in even the smallest products, re-usability may well be the future of RFID at companies ranging from Staples to Wal-Mart.

For more on the reusable RFID experiment:
- read the complete article at eWeek

SAP adds RFID

Sun, 06 May 2007 20:01:37 -0400

At the RFID Journal Live conference, SAP showed off its RFID Product Tracking and Authentication application to customers and integrators eager to tie RFID into the total ERP framework of their business. SAP's Object Event Repository is an obvious platform for building RFID capabilities, and the company has used it as the basis for a system storing both status and events of RFID-based objects. At the conference, Microsoft also talked about its RFID platform--a platform that promises to have extensive capabilities but that isn't as far along as the SAP offering.

For more on SAP's RFID platform:
- Read a report on the conference at eWeek

Running with RFID in the Boston Marathon

Sun, 15 Apr 2007 20:01:38 -0400

The Boston Marathon has been around for nearly 111 years. RFID technology hasn't been around for nearly that long. The historic event was run without RFID for its first 99 years, but began using the RF tags for runners in the centennial running of 1996. The same qualities that made the Department of Homeland Security leave RFID out of the Real ID mandatory spec make it perfect for verifying the position of runners. RFID's promiscuous nature allows race organizers to verify the time when runners cross the 10K, half-marathon, 30K, and finish lines. This year, runners will be able to give friends a family members a URL to use to keep track of their times, or have email alerts sent automatically. With RFID tags getting smaller, the future of RFID for the Boston Marathon seems bright, indeed.

For the complete account of RFID at the Boston Marathon:
- Read the write-up at NetworkWorld

How small can you go?

Sun, 18 Mar 2007 20:01:37 -0400

When it comes to RFID tags, smaller may not always be better but it is generally more adaptable when it comes to implementation options. Hitachi may have hit the ultimate in RFID packaging flexibility when they displayed a chip measuring 0.05mm x 0.05mm (think of a dust speck). The new chips, if in production, would allow for RFID tags to be embedded in items as thin as a piece of paper. There's a downside, in the 4mm antenna that's currently required, but Hitachi engineers say they're working on that, too.

For more on the teeny-tiny RFID chip:
- read the article at Mobile Tech Today

New AeroScout for auto-find

Sun, 18 Mar 2007 20:01:37 -0400

AeroScout's new T3 RFID tag, which communicates over WiFi networks and features simple response buttons for answering calls, will be on the market in the middle of 2007. These tags, examples of a new generation of enhanced RFID systems, are designed to allow for patient, physical asset, or employee tracking throughout a facility, with the buttons providing programmed responses when the status of the tagged asset changes. The tags, smaller and thinner than the current series, will communicate using Cisco Compatible Extensions in a standard WiFi network.

For more on AeroScout:
- read the article at Network World