While NFC didn’t make it onto the new iPhone, in Android land they’ve become increasingly popular. While at first it was down to Sony and Samsung to include the technology, it is become much more widespread recently with most new phones coming out with NFC capabilities, even at the lower end of the market. This spurred development of new apps that take advantage of the technology, including the one that we’re going to take a look at today, AnyTag NFC Launcher.
As the name suggests, the app simply launches tasks whenever you touch an NFC tag to your phone, and it works with any NFC tag, including our Samsung Tectiles and Sony NFC SmartTags. The two NFC tags that we stock differ primarily by form factor – the Samsung TecTiles are adhesive and work great on flat surfaces, while the Sony Tags are a bit more durable but need to be hung.
The app can perform a startling arrary of tasks, beyond what we’ve seen from these first party applications in the past. For example, you can…
- Make a call to a specific number
- Take a screenshot (if you are rooted)
- Capture a photo
- Launch an app
- Toggle silent mode
- Open a webpage
And that’s only the beginning… for the full list, check out the AnyTag NFC Launcher page on Google Play.
The long and short of it is that almost any function you’d want your phone to perform when touching an NFC tag, from launching a specific program to changing your phone’s settings can be done with a single tap of an NFC tag. And with most NFC tags coming in packs of four or more, you’ll be able to automate your most commonly used actions.
For example, if you commute to work by car you might want to launch your GPS app, start playing your driving music, turn on Bluetooth and send a text to your boss that you’re on your way. With the AnyTAG NFC Launcher app, you can do all that with a single touch.
Try out the AnyTAG NFC Launcher app for yourself, and let us know how you get on!