Gen2 is a UHF passive RFID standard published by the EPC Global organization and was released at the end of 2006.
The Gen2 standard is adopted by Wal-Mart, Target, and the DoD and is the de-facto definition of passive RFID. Over 200 Million Gen2 passive RFID tags are consumed each year (as of 2009). This makes the Gen2 the most popular RFID tag and it has destroyed the future usefulness of HF RFID and LF RFID solutions.
Why Gen2 is simply amazing
Read ranges from 1 inch to 100 feet - Other RFID technologies can not compete with the wide range available
Low cost - Chips average 20 cents but in massive quantities are in the low 10 cent range. Other chips cost $1+, even in large quantities.
Density of chips - Over 300 Gen2 RFID tags can be read per second. Other technologies one or two per second.
Early adoption - Other technologies have been around longer and are showing no major sign of progress. Gen2 has a massive inflow of new hardware and technology that is leapfrogging it past competitors. Areas where other chips excel (secure communication / crypto) are proving to be weak due to easily crack able schemes.
Pseudonyms
Generation 2
Class 1 Generation 2
C1G2
Gen2
Passive RFID
Passive UHF RFID
RFID
Gen2 Tags
TX-2 RFID Tag
TC-1 RFID Tag
TS-1 RFID Tag