Hello,
I was about to purchase the Xseries tags (xNT + xEM) then I was more thinking about getting one of the flex series.
Is it worth waiting for the new Vivo key instead of getting the flexNT ?
Not sure what the rough ETA is or the beta ones are available for purchase.
Kind Regards
All good questions 
The x-series are definitely the easiest to install, but performance of the xNT vs the flexNT … well, it’s pretty clear the flexNT works so much better. The issue is installation… it’s much more difficult to install the flexNT and you need to coordinate with the proper body artist or medical practitioner.
The VivoKey is going to be fundamentally different from the flexNT or even the flexDF. Products like the Samsung Ezon door lock, which I use in my own home, will not be compatible with the VivoKey because they are designed to work with “cheap” RFID tags like the Mifare “classic” S50 1k. They coincidentally also work with the xNT and flexNT, but they will not work with the VivoKey… at least not out of the box. We may be able to create a java card application for VivoKey that may be able to emulate a tag type that will work with it, but it’s not on our “to do” list at the moment.
I personally will be keeping my xEM and flexNT, and an updated VivoKey production chip will be going where my VivoKey prototype is now.
Thanks for the reply!
Can’t wait for the VivoKey to be released, definitely a game changer.
Looks like I’ll grab the following,
Is the proxmark3 the best tool overall to use ? I know some people just use their phones with NFC for the xNT and even a cheaper cloner for the xEM but seems some issues where they then lock the chip.
I know you were working on a new antenna for the proxmark to work better with the xEM/xNT. Is there a new recommendation for these now ?
Ideally just want the xEM to be a clone of access cards (Potentially) and the xNT/FlexNT to be used for phone/door/computer authentication.
Don’t mind the mix of PhoneNFC + Cheaper cloner/reader or just splash out and grab a proxmark3.
Will the Vivokey benefit from having a Proxmark Later on ?
Thanks for your input on this, going to be an interesting project !
The Proxmark is a good tool, but it’s not the most friendly device for simple reading/writing functions. For example, if you just want to program your vCard to the flexNT, then an NFC phone will be just fine for that.
The locking problem is not a problem with any of the readers, it’s purely an issue of having a poor coupling at a critical moment during the write process. Check this thread for more info on that.
VivoKey won’t necessarily benefit from the proxmark… at least not unless you are going to try to do some security research with it.