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Apple Hints At Near-Field Payments System In Next-Gen iPhone, iPad
An anonymous reader writes "The smartphone seems to be well on its way to becoming the next wallet; and Apple could be pushing that movement along. Reports from several outlets suggest the Cupertino, Calif.-based electronics giant has plans to put a near-field communications chip in the next versions of the iPhone and iPad for contactless payments technology. The latest report, from blog Apple Insider, says Apple has put up two job postings for two global payment platforms managers."
The site is incredibly obnoxious. Ads pop up over the content from time to time. Avoid if possible. Hope someone can find an article on this on another site.
Several people commented on the ads and tracking cookies and whatnot on that site. Here's an alternate article on the same topic.
I've seen a lot of stories pop up around this, but I'm not quite sure why - for one thing, doesn't the most recent Google Android phone already include an NFC chip and support in the OS? So it's not like Apple is the first here, they haven't even confirmed they are doing it!
Also, in more general terms, I don't know why people get freaked out about this. It's just another way to pay for things.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
I also think they should give out free puppies because one if by day, two if by night! Or Four Score and Seven Years Ago or something.
Co-opting historically patriotic catchphrases does not prove your point, it only underlines your lack of understanding about free economy and government. The fact that you dont like paying surcharges does not make this a constitutional matter.
Paypal is a value-added service (many would argue against this, though), and it costs money to run it. If you dont like it, mail a check, or fly over to sweden or wherever wikileaks is now and pay them cash. By the way, checks cost you money. As do plane tickets. And ATM charges.
Less secure? Neither cash nor credit cards can be scanned without removing them from my pocket.
Both can be removed from your pocket. Once removed, cash is 100% insecure, and credit cards can be easily used until fraud/theft is discovered and the card is disabled.
And neither of them can be hacked into without my knowledge.
Cash has no need to be hacked (though it actually can, and sometimes is). And every time you hand over your credit card, you open it up to exploit.
Sure I still have to look out for skimmers and be mindful who I allow to handle them, but all in all they're a lot more secure than NFC is. Remember NFC is just an extension to RFID which is known to be riddled with security problems.
Such as? It uses public key encryption. You can't just "clone" someone's NFC phone, and start making purchases. As a phone owner, you can enable further security mechanisms, which make it far more secure than either cash or traditional credit cards.