With the advent of NFC technology, many were the Asian manufacturers that they did not have the ability to pay the extra which involved including a new chip. Years ago, Chinese phones weren't like they are today. They barely exceeded 100 euros and could not be bought directly in Spain, but had to be imported.
Hence, any additional cost, such as this new chip, was not economically viable to include it. The solution of these manufacturers, starting was create your own data transfer technology baptized as Hotknot, a technology created in 2013 by the screen manufacturer Goodix and that, quickly, was adopted in the processors of the manufacturer MediaTek.
Data transmission it is done through the screens of the devices (one was acting as a transmitter and the other as a receiver), when they came into contact, a very similar to how NFC technology worked at that time.
What can we do with Hotknot
As I mentioned above, the Hotknot technology, was born as the cheap substitute for NFC chips, technology that practically allowed us to perform the same functions as these.
- Exchange of photos, videos and files.
- Share contacts, web addresses, information in general.
- Share information from an application.
- Make payment with mobile phones.
- Enable Bluetooth pairing, Wi-Fi connectivity, and other services.
Except for the possibility of making payments and creating Wi-Fi networks, Hotknot technology allows us to do the same functions that we could already do with the bluetooth chip of mobiles.
We could safely say that this technology was a vitaminized bluetooth.
Hotknot vs. NFC vs. Bluetooth
One of the main benefits for Hotknot manufacturers and buyers, compared to NFC, is profitability. While NFC requires the installation of antennas and additional radio frequency communication chips to allow data transfer, Hotknot does the same without them as it uses a new type of touch screen capacitor to make data transfer possible.
One of the The most negative points of this technology is the transfer speed data via Hotknot. While this technology is very slow, barely exceeding 7 kbps, NFC chips at that time easily reached speeds of over 100 kbps, which are still not fantastic speeds, but when it comes to transferring files, the time difference is very large.
If we talk about Bluetooth technology, organizing data exchange through Hotknot is an easier task, since we do not have to search a list of nearby devices, they just have to bring your screens together to start the data transfer.
Hotknot needs a capacitive touch screen to allow data transfer, cannot be used with any other device that does not have a capacitive screen resistant, such as credit cards, bracelets, labels and the like.
This is where NFC is the clear winner as it can be used to make mobile payments. from any deviceWhether it has a screen or not, as well as being a very important element in the Internet of Things.
NFC also allows much higher transfer speeds, making it more favorable for transmitting large amounts of data. NFC technology uses very low power (only 15 mA) which allows to have Active and passive NFC tags that can run on zero energy, something that is not possible is not possible if you need an active screen like with Hotknot.
Hotknot has some advantages of its own, it doesn't need a separate NFC chip and antenna, which makes it cheaper and easier to implement on phones where space is becoming increasingly scarce and manufacturers want to keep manufacturing costs at bay.
NFC technology transmits data wirelessly (works within 2cm range), and a vulnerability could put all the information it transmits at risk. If we see that we are paying with the mobile and someone sticks his mobile less than 2 cm from our mobile and the POS, it is clear that he is not doing something good.
In short, both technologies are capable of allowing us to quickly exchange information between devices. While Hotknot can work best for small transfers data, technology NFC it fits better in the payment system on mobile devices and can be integrated into a wider range of devices.
Having two technologies that do the same, It does not make any sense, hence only the NFC technology has been the winner.
How to know if my phone has Hotknot
In the age in which we are, you should not worry if your terminal has Hotknot, since has been completely out of date by NFC technology.
However, if you are curious to know if your terminal has Hotknot, you must access the configuration options of your terminal. If in the different options shown, the Hotknot menu appears, it means that you have it and you can only use it with other terminals that also have it.
Currently, this technology not used at all. No bank offers support for Hotknot, anywhere in the world, so you don't have to search. You will not be able to use your device to make payments with your mobile.
What has become of Hotknot
This technology never left chinaTherefore, it was only used in the Asian terminals that were manufactured there.
Being like this, it was about time that this was being abandoned by the manufacturers, manufacturers who had to give their arm to twist and finally adopt the NFC chip in their terminals, even if that meant an increase in the price.
Although China is the factory of the world, not the right country to set the trend in technology.
Xiami, Oppo and Vivo are clear examples of Asian manufacturers that, leaving aside the market for cheap phones, have managed to carve out an important niche in the telephony industry and currently they are the manufacturers that sell the most terminals worldwide along with Apple and Samsung.
And they have achieved it based on bet on what people want, search and need on a mobile, not looking for cheaper alternative solutions as was the case with this technology that had very short legs.