According to AppleInsider, Near Field Communications reports that Apple has built iPhone prototypes equipped with RFID (Radio-Frequency IDentification).

For those unfamiliar, RFID is either super-convenient, terrifyingly insecure, or both. In a nutshell, it broadcasts a signal that can be read from a short distance to process financial transactions (an easy-pay card), determine identity (some nations’ passports), and more futuristic concepts where devices can auto-discover and connect with each other based on their tags.

The convenient part is you could swipe your iPhone to pay for goods or services rather than carrying around cards. Your iPhone could also keep track of tagged item like keys so you can find them between your sofa cushions.

The terrifying part is when hackers and other bad guys read your financial information from a distance, or “see” what country you’re from when trying to determine targets in less friendly parts of the world. Or, just use them to track you instead of your keys.

The future is not for the timid, however, so let us know — do you want?

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

Apple Building iPhone Prototypes with RFID?

On Friday, Apple shipped Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard, their latest computer operating system (which is jailbreaker safe!), and for the first time focus wasn’t on fabulous new consumer-facing features, but on internal re-architecting, the (far too often quoted) refinements and enhancements.

Many of these advancements, as we’ve discussed before, were leveraged from work done for the iPhone version of OS X. QuickTime X, with its yellow trim bars and built-in sharing are an obvious example.

We’ve already seen Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard technology like Data Detectors cross-over to the iPhone, but with this newest, arguably greatest version of Mac OS X now on the market, what can we look forward too for the next generation(s) of iPhone OS X?

Better, faster, easier

The iPhone has already nailed the refined part, and no doubt Snow Leopard benefitted from the compression and other space-saving techniques. Likewise, the aforementioned Quicktime X (and we can’t help but notice — and crow a tad about — some iPhone inspired UI elements to go with it), as well as the touch input of Chinese characters came from the iPhone. What can we get in return?

The more nimble-finder, while we’d LOVE a way to access the iPhone file-system, doesn’t yet seem to be in Apple’s roadmap. Stacks, however — a way for a single dock icon to expand a fan or grid of enclosed apps — have already made an appearance in the Jailbreak community and given the continuing growth of apps yet confined space of the iPhone screen, it seems a logical bit of technology for Apple to move over.

Next generation technologies

It’s a bit early for 64-bit requiring RAM sizes on the iPhone (sigh), and iPhone security, with sandboxed apps and all, is fairly strong already. Likewise, Grand Central-style multi-core process packetization and dispatch may be a way off for our ARM internals (though who knows where Apple’s new PA Semi system-on-chips will take us, right?). Open CL, however, a technology that allows GPU’s to be used for general-computing, CPU-like tasks when they’re not painting pixels or flinging polygons, is something we’re definitely looking forward to. Not watching a moving or playing a game? Take that PowerVR chip and speed up everything else!

We’re not going to keep going on about QuickTime X, since we already have the H.264, hardware acceleration, trimming, the sharing, and the HTTP live streaming on the iPhone, along with voice recording courtesy of Voice Memo. However, the ability to record video not only off the iPhone 3GS camera, but screen recording as well would be appreciated, especially by those of us who cover iPhones and iPhone apps…

Accessibility

Yeah, we got this with the iPhone 3GS back in June as well, and while it isn’t the most widely covered of improvements, we applaud Apple for continuing to raise the bar, both for mobiles and for desktops.

Custom labels for poorly or unlabled screen elements would be a welcome update for the iPhone, however.

Exchange support

Okay, we got this first on the iPhone as well. We even have it better, as while the iPhone supports Exchange 2003, the Mac can only make do with Exchange 2007 or the the upcoming 2010. (We’re not sure why, but we feel like blaming MAPI for something and this’ll do).

And more…

We’d also like to see iPhone Spotlight beefed up to search inside apps that are developed to support the feature, and of course to remember recent searches. Also, syncing photos over from iPhoto, including the Faces and Places metadata, would be nifty to include in search criteria (so we see pictures of Steve Jobs if we search for him, for example.)

System-wide text substitutions, where (c) is replaced with © would be great.

iChat, of course, would be nice to see as a Apple-branded IM app!

Conclusion

Unlike Google or Microsoft, Apple using the same core for their desktop and mobile OS, means more band for their development buck, and more features for users. Win. Win. Since we’re still installing and getting used to Snow Leopard, we may have missed some more examples what else we just might see in future iPhone OS. If you’ve come across any others drop us a comment and let us know!

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

What Mac OS X Snow Leopard Means for the Future of the iPhone

That’s what some are taking away from the analyst briefings we linked to last week. Apple would have only one hardware platform, but different versions of the software for different SKUs of the iPhone.

Sigh. It’s hard enough to convince people that software isn’t just math, and math isn’t free, without dodgy OS stripping schemes artificially creating crippled, low-end versions. Apple thus far has known this — Mac OS X comes in only two versions, client and server. Likewise, they tend to have their free/cheap regular software like iPhoto, and pro apps like Aperture.

Could we see a “pro” version of the iPhone OS? Perhaps, but while the guts of the device would likely stay the same for compatibility and component cost reasons, it’s hard to see no hardware differentiation like more storage, better camera, tweaked casing. After all, that’s what Apple’s historically done with MacBooks and MacBook Pros.

If Apple did go with pure software differentiation, might also make for yet another interesting chapter in the Jailbreak cat-and-mouse game…

Apple believing their software differentiates the iPhone from OTHER smartphones is something they’ve made a point of making a point about since launch (and likely what they meant again this time). But differentiating within the iPhone platform? Well, we just hope they’re leaning towards iPhone Home Basic, Home Premium, Professional, and Ultimate. Because, you know, people just loved that about Windows Vista.

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

Rumorous Maximus: iPhone Models to be Differentiated by Software?

If it’s May, it must be pre-WWDC insanity season, and TiPb is expecting lots of leaks, fake leaks, and fake fake leaks. Also, lots of fun fanboi renderings like the videos embedded above and after the break, courtesy of Business Insider.

Not real, no way, but are these anything like the iPhonechromatic or Unibody models you’d like to see Apple release at some point?

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

Thursday Fun Video: Rainbow/Unibody iPhone Concept Renderings

MacNN has unearthed an Apple patent that shows the concept of aluminum unibody design, first displayed in the current MacBook line, applied to iPods and even — potentially — the iPhone.

Gizmodo has presented some concepts along these lines before, though we’re still not sure how Apple would get around interfering with the 3G HSPA, and future 3.5G HSPA+ and 4G LTE and other radios inside a connected device (which is why they switched to plastic in the current gen iPhone to begin with).

Still, from a sheer design, build quality, and fit and finish perspective… drool.

[Image via Gizmodo]

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

Patent Watch: Apple Dreaming of Aluminum Unibody iPhones?