NFC tag provider RapidNFC has launched an NFC tag scanning index called ScanStrength which rates the readability of different makes and types of NFC tag on a scale from one to 10.

The testing process involves grading tag and product reading distances by placing the tag on a testing rig and scanning it in different orientations with a range of NFC mobile phones, to check the reliability and consistency of the scanning.

“The difference in NFC tag performance was both significant and surprising,” says RapidNFC, which found that NXP’s NTAG203 chip performed better than any other in almost every test. There was, however, little difference in terms of tag reading performance between the Nokia, Samsung and BlackBerry NFC phones used to conduct the tests.

“For a large number of our customers, NFC technology is new and unknown,” says Phil Coote, CEO of parent company Kimtag. “The RapidNFC ScanStrength Index was created to try and reduce a little of that unknown and give our customers a helping hand in the decision making process.”

The results are available now on RapidNFC’s store, with new ratings being added as products arrive and are tested.

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