How to choose suitable NFC chips for your business?
The first consideration is deciding which reader would be used to read or write the Tags. In reality, if we cannot read or encode a Tag, this is completely pointless. It is a great idea to double-check that the NFC Chip and the NFC Reader are compliant.
Smartphone compatibility
You can use NTAG® or ICODE® Chips if you want to use a mobile phone or related application.
ISO15693 or ISO14443
If you use a reader then, make sure it meets the necessary standards. The ISO14443 standard governs NTAG® and MIFARE® chips, whereas ISO15693 governs ICODE® chips.
Memory Capacity
A further critical factor is the user memory, which would be the Tag’s useable memory. The amount of memory required is proportional to the amount of data that will be used. Tags with less memory are generally less costly.
The NTAG210 or NTAG213 Chip is sufficient to configure the Tag with a URL or basic text.
For an electronic business card (V-Card), a Tag with some more memory, like the NTAG216, is preferable.
The encryption level
Without encryption, the chip’s contents become accessible to everyone who searches and scans the Tag with their phone or NFC reader. To prevent this, select a chip that promotes cryptography.
The most commonly used are NTAG413 DNA / NTAG424 DNA and MIFARE® DESFire® & MIFARE Plus®.
Preservation of data
These tags are not everlasting, but the chip makers promise the data’s preservation for extended periods. For NTAG21x, MIFARE Classic®, Plus®, Ultralight®, and MIFARE® DESFire® EV1 versions, this time is ten years. While MIFARE® DESFire® EV2 models have a lifespan of up to 25 years, ICODE® models have a lifespan of up to 50 years.
Looking at NTAG models more closely:
If you require NFC Tags that are usable with all NFC-enabled mobile devices, you must select the NTAG chip. There are various types of NTAG chips.
The NTAG203 is a popular chip with a 137 bytes capacity and is available in various sizes, forms, measurements, and bracelets. In general, it is excellent for any use, even though it has been superseded by the latest generation chips NTAG212 and NTAG213.
The NTAG212 is more sophisticated than the NTAG203 in terms of reading range and speed. It has 128 bytes of memory, which is slightly less. It has the significant benefit of being less costly.
Since it has 504 bytes of usable memory, NTAG215 is in the center of NTAG213 and NTAG216 and can be encrypted with V-Cards or more info. It has some additional functionality, such as password security, like the rest of the NTAG21x series. It is slightly less expensive than the NTAG216, but it is a great NFC Chip.
The NTAG216 has a higher capacity than others owing to its 888-byte usable memory. This feature makes it an excellent chip for business cards with extensive info. They are extremely fast, but they’re more costly.
