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Apple Experimenting With RFID-Enabled iPhone Prototypes?

Drumjim85 said:
RFID isn't secure. You can sit at a street corner with a reader and pick up people's pasport info without them knowing. Until they some how change that I'm totally against RFID.
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RFID is a wireless technology, not unlike 802.11. You can overlay security/encryption on top of it, just like you can do with WiFi/WPA.
 
doctoree said:
720p recording would be even cooler
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Indeed! I'm blown away with the picture quality of my Flip Ultra HD. If I could get similar results out my phone... that would be amazing. It would eat through storage space and battery life very quickly though.
 
TheSpaz said:
I've never come across a door or a car that uses RFID technology. Just seems like another useless feature that won't get used.
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There are plenty of applications in the security space that leverage RFID.

What do you think these smart keys (lexus, toyota, audi, vw, etc) nowadays use - yep, RFID.

The technology is more pervasive than most people know.
 
Can these be controlled by the device itself?

I am not to savvy with RFID tags ( I mean I use pay-pass like it's going out of style ) but I don't know the technical aspects of it.

Could the iPhone actually control it i.e. Enter your credit card info, info for your car ignition etc.... and then select which one you want to use at what time, and disable it when not in use?
 
RFID!!! Yes is good. But would be even better if we get some leak info about iChat and front camera😀
 
TheSpaz said:
I have no idea what the heck RFID is and why we need it in an iPhone. Can anyone give an example of how this technology can be used in the iPhone?
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I thought I read an Apple patent from early this year which described a method of using RFID chips attached to things you might lose frequently (like keys) and then showing a radar like map (or now AR display) of where the tagged objects are around you.

I'm all for this. Just don't put one in my body. K thx.
 
jeremy.king said:
There are plenty of applications in the security space that leverage RFID.

What do you think these smart keys (lexus, toyota, audi, vw, etc) nowadays use - yep, RFID.

The technology is more pervasive than most people know.
Click to expand...

"Want to unlock your car during an ice storm at 30 feet away? There's an app for that." 😛

When the mafia can use it to detonate car bombs like the 30's gangster movies, you'll know Bonnie and Clyde had it tough! 😀
 
macduke said:
I thought I read an Apple patent from early this year which described a method of using RFID chips attached to things you might lose frequently (like keys) and then showing a radar like map (or now AR display) of where the tagged objects are around you.
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Yes I remembered that also at first.
With a transponder in your pocket the iphone could raise an alarm as soon the phone is no longer near you.
 
Increased Cost - No return/benefit for end user ... time length

This makes no sense in the USA.

Right now:
* More MasterCard Holders in Canada & Bank Card holders use securechip
* RFID is hardly, if all used in the USA or Canada
- Germany has already 2 grocery stores in full use.
- what's to stop registered or non-registered pedophiles from using this in clothes to track children. We want the technology, so easiest implementation for economies of scale (to be done quickly) is to put it into seems or washing instruction tags of clothes (all ages). Now with this technology used with an amplifier a said sicko could be at the side of your house, follow you to drop off your kids - identify kids RFID's in clothers/knapsacks/lunch-boxes seperate from adults' items. Then following kids/teens getting home before parents. Yada yada sure this doesn't seem feasable when you live in a house with a dog, but its much easier for kids in apartments (who's parents most likely work longer hours to make ends meet - even in a GOOD economy).

The technology seems nice but it doesn't offer any real EASE of use for us as consumers now. Do you REALLY see traffic jams of pedestrians at the wallmart, k-mart, radio shack, grocery store, JC Penny, etc etc or the Circle-K that you cannot wait 5mins in line to pay for something the traditional way? Seriously??

So for now when there is NO industry really supporting this for the mass market ... its a waist of R&D, increases costs of said devices - even at $5/unit increase its unnecessary.

Also ZIPcar already has a working technology with iPhone software and their service.
 
hitekalex said:
If you're worried about that, you should get off the Internet.
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Yeah, but they currently implant these chips under peoples skin. Get used to these and boom, before you know it you don't "get in" without a chip, you know security et al. Can't drive, can't enter a supermarket, can't get on a bus or plane etc etc without an RFID chip. Maybe I'm over reacting but I don't want my 'real world' presence to be known even more than my 'internet world'.
 
TheSpaz said:
I don't know if I really like the sound of all that. How actually practical is it in "normal people".

I've never come across a door or a car that uses RFID technology. Just seems like another useless feature that won't get used.
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Never used EasyPass to get through tolls?

We don't travel without it anymore.
 
mspy said:
Interesting. I wonder how this could be used. Thoughts?
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Credit card/debit card payment at contactless POS terminals (waving your phone over a sensor rather than punching in a PIN at your grocery store).

Loyalty/club card. Transit pass (mass transit: trains, planes, buses). Event tickets (sports & concerts). Parking meter payment. Keyless security pass (corporate buildings).

Just Google "Osaifu-keitai." Japan has had this for years (the term literally means "wallet phone") and are way far ahead in the adoption of RFID and NFC technology. Like their mobile phone system, they are probably 5 years ahead of the United States.
 
millions of persons use NFC in Japan for trains, subways, buses, starbucks, convenience stores.
we use our NFC enabled fones to check in for flights here.
lack of this facility is often stated as one of the reasons why the iPhone has experienced some hesitation in being purchased.
masayoshi son, softbank chairman, has actively lobbied apple for this facility in the next generation iPhone.
without factory provided solutions there are ridiculous clunkish solutions:

http://cotoha.jp/2009/09/iphone-felica-enq.html
 
RFID would be perfect for tracking Chinese citizens. 😉

(Or the way the U.S. government is headed right now - American ones?) 🙁
 
Hands Sandon said:
Yeah, but they currently implant these chips under peoples skin. Get used to these and boom, before you know it you don't "get in" without a chip, you know security et al. Can't drive, can't enter a supermarket, can't get on a bus or plane etc etc without an RFID chip. Maybe I'm over reacting but I don't want my 'real world' presence to be known even more than my 'internet world'.
Click to expand...

Well if you were an innocent civilian, you'd have nothing to worry about. ...so clearly, you're guilty of something. ...which is exactly why we need everyone to have these chips and keep tabs on them.

...is how the argument goes...


...making us all wish we were born any other species besides this one.
 
Right. Because rather than just SEEING kids, they'll somehow create a "child's clothes detector." Uh huh.

Prom1 said:
This makes no sense in the USA.

Right now:
* More MasterCard Holders in Canada & Bank Card holders use securechip
* RFID is hardly, if all used in the USA or Canada
- Germany has already 2 grocery stores in full use.
- what's to stop registered or non-registered pedophiles from using this in clothes to track children. We want the technology, so easiest implementation for economies of scale (to be done quickly) is to put it into seems or washing instruction tags of clothes (all ages). Now with this technology used with an amplifier a said sicko could be at the side of your house, follow you to drop off your kids - identify kids RFID's in clothers/knapsacks/lunch-boxes seperate from adults' items. Then following kids/teens getting home before parents. Yada yada sure this doesn't seem feasable when you live in a house with a dog, but its much easier for kids in apartments (who's parents most likely work longer hours to make ends meet - even in a GOOD economy).

The technology seems nice but it doesn't offer any real EASE of use for us as consumers now. Do you REALLY see traffic jams of pedestrians at the wallmart, k-mart, radio shack, grocery store, JC Penny, etc etc or the Circle-K that you cannot wait 5mins in line to pay for something the traditional way? Seriously??

So for now when there is NO industry really supporting this for the mass market ... its a waist of R&D, increases costs of said devices - even at $5/unit increase its unnecessary.

Also ZIPcar already has a working technology with iPhone software and their service.
Click to expand...
 
TheSpaz said:
I have no idea what the heck RFID is and why we need it in an iPhone. Can anyone give an example of how this technology can be used in the iPhone?
Click to expand...

There are two possibilities, an RFID tag and an RFID reader/writer.

A tag would be used to identify your iPhone with services where a plastic card or tag is used, usually for payments, door access, hotels, check-in systems, device tracking, inventory management.
A tag inside the iPhone could be of the "active" type (powered) for range and functionality. Encryption is included in most RFID tags nowadays.

An RFID reader is also an interesting proposition. It could be used to identify objects, identify users, recognize accessories, mark all of those as "visited".

Applications are, as always, limited by your imagination:

-Holster detection
-Auto settings per user, per location, per accessory
-iPhone and accessory security
-Exhibit interaction
-Product id, inventory, tracking
-Games, where you identify tokens/cards/board spots, or simply pass the iPhone around.
-iPhone service and manufacturing (Apple internal)
-Capture iTunes gift cards instantly (+short PIN 🙄 )
-Capture contact info from driver's license, etc.
-Sell songs/movies/apps in stores using special gift cards
-Electronic post cards
-etc etc etc 😉
 
Prom1 said:
This makes no sense in the USA.

Right now:
* More MasterCard Holders in Canada & Bank Card holders use securechip
* RFID is hardly, if all used in the USA or Canada
- Germany has already 2 grocery stores in full use.
- what's to stop registered or non-registered pedophiles from using this in clothes to track children. We want the technology, so easiest implementation for economies of scale (to be done quickly) is to put it into seems or washing instruction tags of clothes (all ages). Now with this technology used with an amplifier a said sicko could be at the side of your house, follow you to drop off your kids - identify kids RFID's in clothers/knapsacks/lunch-boxes seperate from adults' items. Then following kids/teens getting home before parents. Yada yada sure this doesn't seem feasable when you live in a house with a dog, but its much easier for kids in apartments (who's parents most likely work longer hours to make ends meet - even in a GOOD economy).

The technology seems nice but it doesn't offer any real EASE of use for us as consumers now. Do you REALLY see traffic jams of pedestrians at the wallmart, k-mart, radio shack, grocery store, JC Penny, etc etc or the Circle-K that you cannot wait 5mins in line to pay for something the traditional way? Seriously??

So for now when there is NO industry really supporting this for the mass market ... its a waist of R&D, increases costs of said devices - even at $5/unit increase its unnecessary.

Also ZIPcar already has a working technology with iPhone software and their service.
Click to expand...

Yup, because apple always just deals with the here and now rather than focus on future technologies......
🙄
 
jz1492 said:
There are two possibilities, an RFID tag and an RFID reader/writer.

A tag would be used to identify your iPhone with services where a plastic card or tag is used, usually for payments, door access, hotels, check-in systems, device tracking, inventory management.
A tag inside the iPhone could be of the "active" type (powered) for range and functionality. Encryption is included in most RFID tags nowadays.

An RFID reader is also an interesting proposition. It could be used to identify objects, identify users, recognize accessories, mark all of those as "visited".

Applications are, as always, limited by your imagination:

-Holster detection
-Auto settings per user, per location, per accessory
-iPhone and accessory security
-Exhibit interaction
-Product id, inventory, tracking
-Games, where you identify tokens/cards/board spots, or simply pass the iPhone around.
-iPhone service and manufacturing (Apple internal)
-Capture iTunes gift cards instantly (+short PIN 🙄 )
-Capture contact info from driver's license, etc.
-Sell songs/movies/apps in stores using special gift cards
-Electronic post cards
-etc etc etc 😉
Click to expand...

Agreed. Regardless of whether people like it or not, this will be the way the future is heading. Japan uses this heavily and they don't seem to have any privacy issues. If you tie this into the rumors of iTunes becoming a PayPal type service, Apple could potentially dominate the digital transaction marketplace.

M87 said:
Indeed! I'm blown away with the picture quality of my Flip Ultra HD. If I could get similar results out my phone... that would be amazing. It would eat through storage space and battery life very quickly though.
Click to expand...

You won't see 720p recording anytime soon. It's not a coincidence that Apple introduced the iFrame format in iMovie. Just like it was no coincidence that iMovie added stabilization features right before an iPhone could record video. The next iPhone, and maybe the 3GS with an upgrade, will be using the 960x540 format.
 
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