Apple iPhone 4G

Monday, November 9th 2009 - 12:12 CET - Comments: 0

T he Apple iPhone 3GS has only recently become available, but the first rumors about a new iPhone (iPhone 4G?) are already flooding the internet. According to the rumors and a well-informed source, according to himself, Apple is testing a prototype iPhone with built-in RFID reader. For those not familiar with RFID; this is a technology to store and read information from a distance of so-called RFID tags, which are found in or on objects. In practice, you come across these on a daily base in the form of detection gates in shops. But why would an Apple iPhone 4G be equipped with RFID, and what could a possible functionality of RFID be?

 

iPhone 4G with RFID function

One of the possibilities that a 4G iPhone with RFID function could have, is as a form of payment. One application of RFID is called Near Field Communication, NFC, an intelligent form of RFID. NFC is a communication method which does not require contact, while it uses a high frequency at a short distance (10cm). The difference between that and RFID, is the fact that NFC works in two directions, meaning it can both store and send. A possible Apple iPhone 4G with such a technique could therefore also be used to pay with.

 

 

iPhone 4G mobile payment
In the Netherlands this technique has been tested for example by the Rabobank (a well-known Dutch bank). Testers were using the Internet to purchase a ticket or a product without making use of regular paying methods. With these kinds of applications in mind, combined with a future Apple iPhone, we see great opportunities for yet another successful Apple innovation. It will undoubtedly still take some time, but perhaps we can expect the successor to the iPhone 3Gs before 2010; the Apple iPhone 4G?

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