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Apple's patent for Concert Ticket+ could change your concert experience
We know that Apple has a propensity for patenting anything that moves, and most of them don't see the light of day. But Patently Apple has written, in copious detail, about a very interesting one called Concert Ticket+. I would bet money on the likelihood of this one becoming a reality. It all starts with buying concert tickets through iTunes and syncing it with your iPhone. Then, when you get to the concert, the electronic ticket will be received either by a manned or unmanned turnstile using Near Field Communication (NFC). This is the same technology that starts a Prius without a key, or is embedded in my Lexus car key. When turning on the car, an NFC connection must be wirelessly transmitted or the car won't start. It also takes into account other methods of authentication such as bar code scanning. It doesn't stop there. Lots of other information can be provided once the ticket is registered as being collected. E-Tickets for food and merchandise discounts can also be stored on the iPhone and when presented to get a cheaper T-Shirt or soda, the amount spent can be deducted from your iTunes account. Impulse purchasing of apps has been tremendously successful and that concept can be easily transferred from the app store to the concert hall. An electronic coupon for $5.00 off a T-shirt is going to sell a lot of T-shirts. The patent also provides for value added services either free or at a price. You'd probably be able to obtain a concert schedule, lyrics to what is being played or a set-list for free, but if you want a recording of the show you've attended, that can be made available for a price.
Apple files patent application for NFC e-tickets with 'extra benefits'
Apple appears to be casting an eye out to new shores, judging by the latest of its patent applications to go public. Filed in September 2008, this primarily relates to adding bonus digital content to event tickets, whereby swiping your entry pass to, say, a concert or a sports event into an electronic device would result in you gaining access to related goodies from "an online digital content service." Additional claims describe the use of an electronic device (read: iPhone or iPod touch) as the carrier of the (digitized) ticket, allowing the user access to the event itself as well as "at least one other event-related benefit." The whole thing is focused on the use of near-field communications as the data transfer method of choice, something that Apple's hardware is not yet equipped to handle. Then again, NFC interaction is also referenced in a separate patent application (from August 2009, see WIPO link below) for peer-to-peer payments, suggesting that Cupertino might have more than a passing interest in the contactless transfer tech. What do you think, will you be buying your Steelers tickets with a side order of iTunes?
First Data and Tyfone announce partnership for NFC payments by microSD card
We've already seen Visa team up with DeviceFidelity to deliver NFC payments via microSD card, and it looks like they now have some company from First Data and Tyfone, who have just announced a partnership of their own to help bring the technology to the cellphone-toting masses. At the heart of their system is Tyfone's SideTap card made by NXP Semiconductors (pictured after the break), which is not only able to function as an actual memory card in addition to a NFC payment device, but should cost about the same as a regular memory card of the same capacity as well. Using a microSD card instead of a phone with built-in NFC technology also cuts out the need for carriers or phone manufacturers to be involved, which is apparently where First Data comes in, as it will responsible for bringing the cards to consumers (in addition to dealing with retailers, carriers and financial institutions). Complete details on a rollout still seem to be a bit up in the air, but the two companies are promising that it will hit the market in the second half of 2010, with trials slated to begin mid-year.
Nokia cancels NFC-equipped 6216 handset
Visa may be pushing ahead to bring NFC to phones via microSD cards, but it looks like phones with built-in NFC capabilities have now suffered a bit of a setback, as Nokia has officially canceled its already delayed 6216 handset. That phone was a rather unimpressive candy bar in most respects, but it was the first such phone that would have tied NFC payments to a carrier's SIM card, which Nokia had hoped would have been enough to at least give it a foothold, if not kick-start a wave of NFC handsets. For its part, Nokia isn't offering too many details on the reasons for the cancellation, saying only that it felt "the quality of the consumer experience was not what it needed to be," and adding that its "commitment to NFC remains as strong as ever."
Visa teams with DeviceFidelity for contactless payments via microSD card
Visa has been working on contactless (a.k.a. NFC) payments for quite some time, and it's now teamed up with DeviceFidelity in the hope of bringing them to even more cellphone users. That company makes (among other things) a contactless payment system contained on a microSD card which, when paired with Visa's own payWave system, will let you use just about any microSD card slot-equipped cellphone to make pay contactless payments at between 50,000 to 60,000 merchants in the US. Exact specifics are otherwise a bit light, but Visa says trials are scheduled to begin in the second quarter of this year.
