Sony Ericsson Xperia Z and Xperia M
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I've just tested both of these phones with both Classic and Alpha rings and they work beautifully, with well sized sweet spots that aren't difficult to find. Best effect is with the rings oriented horizontally, I'll post pictures tomorrow.
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Turns out 'tomorrow' is a fluid concept - sorry about that,
To make up for the wait I've got a few images showing where rings work on the Xperia Z and Xperia M as well as a picture of how I hold the M in order to hit the sweet spot on unlock.
Rings work in either the horizontal or vertical position unlike the majority of other phones. I'm holding them in the position where the phone makes a successful read noise.Alpha on Z:
Classic on Z:
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Next is the Xperia M, same thing again - the rings are being held in the position where the succesful read tone is heard.
Note the two distinct positions! Both Alpha and Classic work in both positions equally well, regardless of orientation.Alpha on M:
Classic on M:
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Now, how I hold my Xperia M while unlocking:
The Alpha is being read by the phone even at that distance. Allowing my finger to rest on the phone guarantees an easy unlock every time.
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Unlock in action!
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Glad you can test your ring on a few different phones, must be nice. How about trying to find a Nexus 4 to test...since who knows when my ring will ever show up.
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Hi @Memnoch, I've actually been trying to find some more in the Nexus series but they're just not that popular among the people I know here. The only one I've been able to try so far was a Nexus 5 that performed ridiculously well compared to some of the reports we've had in other threads here. Your ring wont be far off now either, have faith.
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The Nexus 5 & all other versions of the Nexus line all have a plastic back except the Nexus 4....which has a glass back plate. That's why I had to change from Normal to Alpha ring, because there were reading problems.
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That's an interesting one, I wonder if they used a metal shielding layer on the inside of the glass back plate. I'd love to pull one apart and see for myself whats going on inside there.
Here's an interesting thought - the Nexus 4 supports the QI inductive charging standard. I wonder if that's interfering with things at all. There was a post here somewhere with one of the members experimenting with an aftermarket QI adapter that negatively affected NFC usability. -
Nexus 4 Teardown
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Ah, thanks. It must have been a vague moment on my part - I was using ifixit to look at other things a few days ago.
Anyhow, my thoughts from looking at the design of that dual NFC/QI antenna are as follows: "damn! That's a dense mass of wire."
I'd love to pass a field strength meter around the back of one of those phones and see exactly what the QI element in the middle is doing to the NFC element on the outside. I also really really really dislike spring contacts. I know they're in use in pretty much everything but they really are the bane of my life some days. They lose tension, they tarnish, they flex and wear away material from both sides. I do not like them at all.
At least though, the antennas are seperated a little bit. They're still going to interact with each other at a certain level even though they're not both active at the same time.
I do hope the Alpha rings sorts that out for you! -
@Lokki said:
Here's an interesting thought - the Nexus 4 supports the QI inductive charging standard. I wonder if that's interfering with things at all. There was a post here somewhere with one of the members experimenting with an aftermarket QI adapter that negatively affected NFC usability.
Nexus 5 also supports inductive charging, but you had ok results with one of those?
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Roger that. The smallest design change in antennas can make a huge difference.
Near pristine Nexus 5 worked well with both rings but required correct orientation.
