I just received my Touchatag kit in the mail.
I installed the software, plugged in the USB reader, and was immediately able to turn my Field Notes notebook (a souvenir from PaperCamp NY 2009) into a physical hyperlink.
So, now, if I wave my notebook at the reader, my flickr photostream opens in a browser. Ta da.
After about an hour of use, I’m excited by the possibilities that Touchatag offers as a prototyping system. The interface for setting the tags up is a little odd, but understandable after a minute or two of experimentation.
I was initially disappointed that the default URL application only handles GET requests, which would make a REST API difficult to interface with. Some perusal of the developer documentation, however, suggests that custom applications, while not easy, would be doable.
And anyway, it’s a $30 RFID prototyping toolkit, which takes touch-based interaction design and makes it accessible. To complain about the details of the GUI they’ve created for setting up your touch-based prototype is to miss the point entirely.
Verdict: if you’re interested at all in tangible interaction design, go immediately and pick up a starter kit.