New iPhones and iPads Will Make Retail Purchases
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Call it the iWallet.
Apple's upcoming versions of the iPhone and iPad will come equipped with the ability to make purchases, according to a published report.
Expected to be released later this year, the new devices will incorporate "ear-field communication" (NFC) that allows the secure transmission of information to and from a receiver up to four inches away, consultants told Bloomberg News.
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This could provide an alternative to tap-and-go payment systems such as MasterCard's PayPass, and allow Apple to get a percentage of the sale of a wide variety of consumer goods.
Apple built a payment terminal prototype that would allow businesses to take payments from NFC-enabled iPhones and iPads, said Richard Doherty, director of consulting firm Envisioneering Group.
These terminals may be given away to retailers as part of a push to get the technology widely adopted.
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Using the new iPhones and iPads, it could even be possible to pass money from one device to another.
Read more at the New York Post.