Sony releases the "RC-S380" NFC reader/writer, the world's first product certified by the NFC Forum

April 5, 2012
Sony releases the world's first product certified by the NFC Forum Certification Program, the "RC-S380" USB reader/writer. This product can communicate with any devices that conform to the NFC Forum specification, as well as devices implementing the contactless IC card technologies ISO/IEC 14443 Type A / Type B and FeliCa.

Planned release dates: April, 2012 (Japanese model); summer 2012 (international model).

 RC-S380/S

The RC-S380 product achieved the NFC Forum certification through the cooperation with AT4 wireless, a NFC Forum Authorized Third Party test laboratory. The reader platform used for RC-S380 has been provided to NFC Forum Certification Program as a reference sample to assist the Digital Protocol test tools.

"It is fitting that the first NFC Forum-certified product has been released by Sony, a founding member of the NFC Forum," said Debbie Arnold, director of the NFC Forum. "For companies like Sony, our Certification Program provides not only increased assurance that their devices conform to NFC Forum specifications and will interoperate with other NFC Forum-certified devices, but also the confidence to deliver global solutions that perform as intended around the world."

"We are pleased that our RC-S380 reader has become the first NFC Forum-certified product, thanks to the full support of AT4 wireless, and are proud to bring the first NFC Forum certified device to the market. We believe the NFC Forum Certification Program offers great value to the industry. We will keep supporting this program." said Kazuyuki Sakamoto, General Manager of Sony FeliCa Business Division.

Product Specifications

  RC-S380
Regulation requirements
[Japan] Radio law format specification number: AC-12005

To comply with the following regulations:
[USA] FCC
[Canada] IC Certification
[Europe] CE R&TTE
API
PC/SC Ver.2.0, FeliCa Library
Supported cards
  • FeliCa Card
  • MIFARE Classic
  • MIFARE Ultralight / Ultralight C
  • MIFARE DESFire / DESFire EV1
  • MIFARE Plus
  • Topaz / JEWEL
  • ISO/IEC 14443-4 Type A / B (T=CL)
  • NFC Forum Tag 1, 2, 3, 4A, 4B
  • Pico Pass
Communication distance (per card and device)*1
Approx. 5 mm
Communication speed (per card and device)
106 kbps, 212 kbps, 424 kbps
Carrier frequency (per card and device)
13.56 MHz (±50 ppm)
Operating temperature / humidity (no condensation)
5C°~35C° / 10%~90%
Storage temperature / humidity (no condensation)
-20C° ~+60C° / 10%~80%
Mass
Approx. 38g (excluding USB cable)
External dimension (W x H x D)
Approx. 60 x 11 x 100mm
External interface
USB (full-speed)
USB cable length
Approx. 1m
Power requirements
DC 5V (supplied via USB)
Power consumption (during operation)
Max. 200mA
Supplied accessories
Cardholder, Dedicated stand, USB cable
*1: Communication range depends on the peripheral environment. Under ideal conditions, this value is not affected by electromagnetic waves or metallic substances.

About the NFC Forum Certification Program

NFC Forum Certification Program The Certification Program offers increased assurance that NFC Forum-certified products are interoperable with other NFC Forum-certified products. It also supports consistency in the behavior of NFC devices by confirming that products conform to NFC Forum specifications. Under the program, companies submit their devices to an authorized NFC Forum test laboratory for conformance testing using NFC Forum-validated test tools.

  • NFC Forum website: http://www.nfc-forum.org/
  • NFC Forum-certified devices: http://certification.nfc-forum.org/certification_register/