Samsung Launching TecTile 2 With Support For Galaxy S 4
For all of the flack that Apple gets each time it changes something with a new iPhone that renders an old technology obsolete, it's only fair to take a hard look at similar moves being made by Samsung. With the introduction of the Galaxy S 4, one piece of tech that Samsung was pushing fairly hard is being rendered incompatible. In fact, Samsung was pushing the original TecTiles so hard, that it was giving them away to Galaxy Note owners who registered for some.
Now, however, the GS4 will be the first major Samsung handset that doesn't play nice with the original TecTile. For those who haven't used them before, TecTiles are NFC stickers that can be programmed to do certain things when a handset touches them. For example, if you stuck a TecTile onto your car holster, you could program that tile to tell your phone to enable Bluetooth, convert to Automobile mode, and launch Google Maps... automatically. It's a pretty useful technology, but for GS4 buyers, you'll need to wait for TecTile 2.
According to Samsung: "Samsung is introducing TecTile 2, an update to the original TecTile NFC programmable tags, which will be available in the coming weeks. TecTile 2 will use the current NFC technology on the market, allowing Samsung customers to further incorporate NFC into their daily lives and to use with the latest Samsung Mobile products and services, including the Galaxy S 4. As industry standards continue to evolve, Samsung remains committed to meeting those standards and adapting its technologies if necessary. Samsung customers can also fully utilize TecTiles 2 with existing Samsung Mobile NFC-enabled Android smartphones currently in market."
Samsung isn't being clear about when they'll launch and how much they'll cost, but at least they're backwards compatible with older Samsung NFC-enabled phones.
Now, however, the GS4 will be the first major Samsung handset that doesn't play nice with the original TecTile. For those who haven't used them before, TecTiles are NFC stickers that can be programmed to do certain things when a handset touches them. For example, if you stuck a TecTile onto your car holster, you could program that tile to tell your phone to enable Bluetooth, convert to Automobile mode, and launch Google Maps... automatically. It's a pretty useful technology, but for GS4 buyers, you'll need to wait for TecTile 2.
According to Samsung: "Samsung is introducing TecTile 2, an update to the original TecTile NFC programmable tags, which will be available in the coming weeks. TecTile 2 will use the current NFC technology on the market, allowing Samsung customers to further incorporate NFC into their daily lives and to use with the latest Samsung Mobile products and services, including the Galaxy S 4. As industry standards continue to evolve, Samsung remains committed to meeting those standards and adapting its technologies if necessary. Samsung customers can also fully utilize TecTiles 2 with existing Samsung Mobile NFC-enabled Android smartphones currently in market."
Samsung isn't being clear about when they'll launch and how much they'll cost, but at least they're backwards compatible with older Samsung NFC-enabled phones.
