Rumors suggest that NFC could be in the works for the new iPhone. While the limited space and rumored design of the so-called iPhone 5 might not allow for it, one thing does seem clear- Apple is interested in NFC. If not now, perhaps in the iPhone 5S or whatever they decide to call it?

Where’s the evidence of Apple’s interest? Beyond its somewhat-limited eWallet-type app, Passbook, coming to iOS 6, there is now patent information that could possibly allude to an NFC-based payment system in the works.

The new Apple patent suggests a graphical user interface that would represent the payment transaction through a digital image. Sound complicated? Basically, imagine looking at your screen to see a digital version of your MasterCard or Visa. To confirm the payment, this patent would basically have you touch the screen and ‘slide’ the card across it.

Sounds innocent enough, and it could just be a feature that will make it into PassBook for debit/credit cards that were manually entered, right? That’s entirely possible, but reading the detailed parts of the patent pictures and information makes it more likely that NFC is a key part of this patent system.

Exact words here:

Close range communication with the NFC device may take place via magnetic field induction, allowing the NFC device to communicate with other NFC devices or to retrieve information from tags having radio frequency identification (RFID) circuitry. As discussed below, the NFC device may provide a manner of connecting to a shopping website and communicating with an external server.

Interpreting that, it’s pretty obvious that the idea here is to retrieve ID information from cards through NFC, and the final piece of the puzzle is revealed here:

For example, credit cards may be digitally represented within an electronic wallet or an online payment system. After movement of the graphical elements, the electronic device may transmit a confirmation message to initiate payment with the selected payment instrument.

The ending part of this segment says you could slide your digital card on-screen and then initiate payment with “the selected payment instrument”- sounds like a NFC card reader to me. What do you think? Does this patent suggest some kind of NFC payment system that makes use of graphical sliding and pictures to confirm transactions? Or something else entirely?

[ Source ]

The post Apple Patent Suggest Sliding Virtual Cards to Confirm NFC Payments? appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

The so-called iTravel app would work in tandem with Passbook, a feature that is set to come with iOS 6 this fall. Passbook is designed to capture your documents and save them in digital form, including boarding passes and possibly even your actual passport or driver’s license. It’s debatable whether TSA and other border control people would accept a digital passport, but airlines will probably start shifting to NFC to accept this new system. And it’s not just flights either; iTravel can be used for car rentals, cruises, trains, buses and more. Apple has been working on this for quite a while, as it appears the patent was originally filed way back in Q3 2008.

Not surprisingly, Apple has also filed and been awarded several more patents in the last while too. You know that Smart Cover and Smart Case for the iPad? It looks like they may be planning to miniaturize the whole thing and slap it onto the iPod nano too. I get the utility for something the size of an iPad, but do you really need a magnetic folding cover for your tiny MP3 player?

[Patently Apple via NFC News]

The post NFC-Enabled iTravel App Patented by Apple for iPhone 5 appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

Forgetting the passport is certainly not a good way to start your journey into a foreign territory, especially if the country you are visiting is the United States. But Canadian Martin Reisch managed to gain entry into the US after presenting a scanned copy of his passport on an iPad.

According to the available info, Reisch was traveling to the US to deliver some Christmas gifts to his friend’s children. He might have been too excited about the matter that he forgot about his passport and realized about it only when he was about half an hour away from the border.

Rather than turning back and making a two-hour trek back to his home in Montreal to fetch his passport, Reisch decided to try his luck at crossing the border without the required documents, but with his iPad.

The tablet had a scanned copy of his passport which he had saved in it just, you know, in case.

The US border officer who was presented with the iPad and Reisch’s driver’s licence was reportedly slightly annoyed with the presentation, but was most probably full of Christmas spirit as he allowed Reisch to pass.

According to Reisch, “I thought I’d at least give it a try. He took the iPad into the little border hut. He was in there a good five, six minutes. It seemed like an eternity. When he came back he took a good long pause before wishing me a Merry Christmas“.

Since 2009, Canadians are required to carry with them more than just a driver’s licence for identification for US land border crossings.

Canadian visitors have to produce an enhanced driver’s license, or should be part of the Trusted Traveler Program, or should have, well, a passport. Scans, photocopies or artistic impressions are not in the list. Reisch’s case appears to be an isolated example of flexibility at the US-Canadian border.

Reisch used his iPad once again on his return journey when he showed the device to Canadian Customs, and believes that digital identification will arrive in the near future. He says, “I see the future as 100 percent being able to cross with your identity on a digital device — it’s just a matter of time“.

US Customs and Border Protection hasn’t commented on the matter so far.

The post Canadian Man Uses iPad To Cross US Border appeared first on Mobile Magazine.