RFID coming to iPhones?
Posted Nov 6th 2009 5:00PM by Sang Tang
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| Photo courtesy of flickr: Thijs Jacobs |
How awesome would it be if, instead of using my Mobil Speedpass, I could turn to my iPhone and swipe that against the gas pumping station to pay for gas? And, because there may eventually be "an app for that," I may also be able to view my current balance and fuel economy statistics. Or, instead of needing to put a FasTrak transponder atop my windshield (which is annoying), I could simply put my iPhone on the dashboard as I cross the toll road. I could then view my balance, as well as fill up my credits on the fly. These are just some examples of RFID applications in use today.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Lincoln Log said 5:11PM on 11-06-2009
Every piece of crap you buy has an RFID tag glued somewhere in the packaging. Cookies maximus. Pick up an item to look, the tag keys a cam to record the moment and note your consumer profile. Move to the register and item is matched to buyer. Sure, there are a few useful niches to make it sound nice, but, have no doubt, it's all about data-mining. I always feel better knowing that my passport is ready to 'illuminated' by anyone mildly adept with a scanner.
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(01) said 9:16PM on 11-06-2009
Exactly. If this does happen, I'm sure CC companies will release apps to utilize it. There's no way I'm beaming my info like that when it's so unsecured.
Darren said 5:47PM on 11-06-2009
Umm, every possibility you mention in the blog post would relate to having an RFID *chip* in the iPhone, not a reader. Most of those functions are also probably handled better via a mechanism such as Starbucks uses, with a 3D barcode being displayed on the iPhone when and only when you want to use it.
On the other hand, an RFID reader could have some wide ranging application in industrial and retail markets (like the new easypay system in Apple retail stores).
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archipenkoblackmilk said 5:54PM on 11-06-2009
sounds good, but i'm so wary of RFID security.
I'll want a bag like this... http://www.paraben-forensics.com/rfid-passport-security.html
or my iPhone cases will have to come with some sort of protection.
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punkassjim said 7:39PM on 11-06-2009
Agreed. A friend of mine has one of those stainless-steel-woven wallets to protect his RFID access cards from getting poached. I didn't know much about it, but now that I do, I wouldn't trust much of my life/identity to an RFID chip.
It's great to daydream about these things, but really, it could only ever work in a world where everyone is honest, and nobody is evil. I don't live in that world.
CaptCaveman said 5:54PM on 11-06-2009
I didn't know Mobil still had the speed pass.
I had one. But then I moved to Iowa. Seems there is not one Mobil station in the state of Iowa. Every surrounding state is loaded with them.
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SireB said 5:58PM on 11-06-2009
Can't wait for the jailbrake app that boosts the power of the reader chip and lets me scan your creditcard through your wallet and pants.
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Jack said 7:30PM on 11-06-2009
You stay out of my pants, sir
IntegratedWOZMachine said 7:16PM on 11-06-2009
Even if the iPhone was chipped (instead of being a reader as this article discusses) it could not be used as a FastPath transponder. FastPath is a completely different radio technology and frequency than the type of RFID discussed and demonstrated here.
I work with RFID. There are lots of dreams and fantasies about RFID, but reality is nowhere near what you describe and it will not happen in 10 years. If you research RFID you will find that 10 years ago it was "guaranteed" that every retail product would have an RFID tag today. Hahhaha!
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rdcezar said 7:54PM on 11-06-2009
Well, I definitely know one place where this will be heavily used. Japan.
All of the competing phones have had RFID capability for a long time there. People have gotten used to paying for transit, vending machines, fast food using RFID.
Now if only they would work to ensure that I could put a MiFare transit card on it, then i'm all for it. For now, I'll have to settle for PayPass. At least it gets me my Tim Hortons in the morning.
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pozzy said 4:16AM on 11-07-2009
A "contactless" credit card is far more secure than existing magnetic stripe cards. The chip generates a one time password that ensures each transaction is unique. Even if intercepted the data cannot be replayed, and the data is insufficient to create another card. How many times have you handed over your magstripe credit card to a waiter/waitress at a restaurant? "Skimming" magstripe cards *is* a major source of fraud. So contactless/RFID/NFC increases security.
If Apple chooses to incorporate NFC, it will be the catalyst for widespread adoption of the technology. In the meantime, take a look at other solutions in the works like www.tapwallet.com.
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David Cohen said 5:21AM on 11-07-2009
The idea of using a cellphone to pay for gas is one of the more stupid I have read recently.
Electrical devices such as cellphones can cause sparks, and therefore can ignite flammable vapour like petrol. Petrol dispensing equipment and electronics is designed specifically to avoid this - phones are not.
That's why gas station forecourts have "cellphone use banned" signs and pictograms on the pumps, telling people not to use them. Of course, there is a large number of selfish, ignorant fools who are so self-centred and tuned to indolent laziness that they don't even SEE these signs, let alone take note of them.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/05/14/tech/main617547.shtml
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Charlie said 9:22AM on 11-07-2009
@David
Cellphones have never caused gas station fires.
The story you cite is out of date. The fire chief says it was not the phone.
http://www.snopes.com/autos/hazards/gasvapor.asp
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Rob Wisnewski said 9:39AM on 11-07-2009
Isn't RFID dangerous? I thought I saw a few articles maybe even on this site that suggested it was pretty much evil.
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colouroflight said 6:24PM on 11-07-2009
It's annoying to put a toll transponder on your windshield?
You know, back in my day we had to actually STOP AND THROW COINS IN A BASKET. Oh the horror.
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samuel said 5:40PM on 11-08-2009
These 'future' demo videos have been quite successful, I remember one shown off as an app management took to be built into iTunes - that now exists. So maybe this will to?
My job as a waiter has me taking payments with mobile a chip & pin machine, often I carry it to tables where the customer clearly has an iPhone and I remark that some day it'll be that device which takes payment. I believe that this has been the desire of many inside the industry for a long time.
Here in London, England we have an Oyster card for our transport network which relies on RFID chips, it works extremely well, we also have Banks issuing cards with these chips built into them and even stories of Mobile company Nokia doing a trial with all three combined -- but never anything more concrete than all the technologies separate and stories of trials.
I think, as before, its going to take a company like Apple to make this work. After all, Nokia had access to touch screen technology a long time ago and did nothing with it - look what Apple did.
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