Apple's hiring of NFC expert sparks digital wallet rumors

By on Aug 16, 2010 at 11:22 PM
Rumor August 16, 2010

Benjamin Vigier is a bit of a near field communication (NFC) pioneer. Since 2004, he has worked with the likes of Bouygues Telecom, Sandisk, and mFoundry. He is also responsible for, “the development of mobile wallet applications for two top US mobile network operators and an NFC wallet application for a top three US bank.” So when U.S. electronics company Apple, Inc. decided to hire him as their “commerce product manager,” the rumors began a flyin’. Unsurprisingly, Vigier and Apple both declined to comment on the hiring, but a look at some of the recent NFC related patent filings by Apple have given the rumors legs. NFC World reports the following NFC related patent filings for Apple int he last few months:

  • An NFC-based mobile payments service that lets consumers make payments to merchants and other consumers via a credit or debit card, directly from their bank account or using credit stored in their iTunes account.
  • The ‘iPay, iBuy and iCoupons’ patents, describing a comprehensive mobile payments, mobile commerce and mobile marketing business based around an NFC-enabled iPhone.
  • Products+, an NFC-based product marketing and promotions application.
  • An airline ticketing and boarding pass application that describes an unmanned, automated airport ticketing and baggage counter kiosk and introduces the concept of an automated security checking process where users of the iTravel app could process themselves through the security clearance system and check themselves in at the boarding gate.
  • The Grab & Go patent, designed to make it easy for customers to transfer files between devices such as the Mac, iPhone and Apple TV.
  • An NFC-enabled iPod, games controller, TV and iPhone.
  • An NFC-based concert, entertainment and sports venue ticketing application that includes exclusive bonus features for users of Apple’s service.

Maybe someone will leave an NFC enabled iPhone in a bar? Until then… let the rumors continue.

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42 Comments

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  • PAPINYC

    Sounds like iFeces ……..

    • Ernie

      Don’t you realize that you are the feces? You are big time caca and you make fandroids look really bad. Just sayin’! Please disappear from the web.

  • marK

    this will somehow end with apple-branded money

    • Jarrett

      They should just use the points system that MSFT used for their digital store.

      • Jarrett’s illegitimate son

        Why doesn’t EVERYONE listen to you, dad? You’re so brilyunt.

    • Dinero

      Steve Jobs on a $500 bill would scare me shitless

      • Ernie

        And wouldn’t an Eric Schmidt one do the same? It should if it doesn’t.

  • Apple is no longer innovative

    Apple has few patents in NFC. This field has been around for a long time and many companies have many patents that Apple would have to license. Their patents are minor compared to what’s out there so they wouldn;t be able to strong arm anybody.

    • Jarrett

      Apple licenses more than a couple of patents, so clearly they could also license any NFC patents that would be necessary for what their uses call for.

      Although, I would love for you to list all of these NFC patents other companies hold that you feel Apple doesn’t have the resources to license. List away, please.

      • Jarrett’s illegitimate son

        Holy shyte dad, the super-duper smart stuff that just falls out of your mouth flap is pure jeenyus.

        ps: Mom hates you.

  • gabez

    5tod your the idiot

  • Jarrett

    I am not sure which group is worse. The group that gives Apple to much credit or the group that won’t give Apple any credit.

    If there is anything within the NFC space that Apple can apply to their business to make money, they will apply it. If there is nothing there, they won’t. This wouldn’t be the first Apple patent to never get used.
    Building a patent portfolio is as much about expanding your own IP as it is limiting your competition’s IP.

    • Jarrett’s illegitimate son

      Hold. The. Phone. My dad just skoold ALL of you. My dad is so brilyunt, he doesn’t NEED to have a job at Apple, he can just go online and ACT like he does. He’s AWESUM.

      ps: Dad, when are you going to pay me back my allowance you borrowed?

      • Ernie

        I rest my case. Look at this moron. He should be in nickelodeon.com together with papi rather than here.

    • Allen Walker

      lol shut up walter

    • Ernie

      Big time agreed. This sites and others like it are becoming a playground for little kids that think they know about technology. I dream of a place where you can have real conversations about the benefits of each platform. I love google and all their desktop apps but I’m not crazy about android. But over here you can’t discuss this kind of stuff because the kids won’t allow you to stay on subject.

  • TypicalAppleHatingDBAG

    BIG DEAL!! DROID HAS BEEN DOING THIS FOR YEARS NOW!!! WAIT TO BE LATE TO THE PARTY FOR EVERYTHING CRAPPLE!!!!

    • 626

      The Droid has only been around since October 2009….that hardly constitutes the “years” you claim. The Android OS on the other hand has been around since 2008.

      • Jarrett

        Not quite. Go ahead and google Android beginnings, we will give you a few minutes,,,,,,,, you should have come up with two seperate years for answers. 2003 and 2005. I will allow you to explain those two years in the Android era…… Go ahead, you can do it.

      • Jarrett’s illegitimate son

        Hellz yeah pops. Tell them foolz. Man, I’m so lucky to have such a keyboard-bad-ass for a dad!

      • Matt P

        read below..

        In teh words of yo bastid child…u wuz skool’d

      • Matt P

        Android was created in 2001 and Google bought the company in 2005…

        Jarrett, Android Inc’s CEO Andy Rubin, developer of Android OS AND Danger(as in the mobile OS on the Sidekicks), started creating Android in 2001. Google bought the Palo Alto, CA company in 2005. In 2008, Google sold Danger to Microsoft for $500mil.

  • 5tod

    @ walter- shut the fuck up and leave then

    • WalterSobchak

      Cute! did you just learn curse words from one of the cool kids in school. You use them so appropriately.

      • Ernie

        See what I mean Walter? You’re a guy to have a good enlightening and appealing conversation with. These other guys are mentally incapable of having these types of conversations.

  • Flacofromny

    Can someone explain to me what is all this crap about? Call me slow but idk what is all of this about.

  • WalterSobchak

    We would have it, it just probably wouldn’t be touchscreen and would look a lot like blackberry.

    http://techcrunch.com/2007/12/17/android-prototype-lets-hope-looks-can-be-deceiving/

  • fred

    Yay, now my “convenience fee” can officially be more than the ticket itself.

  • Dave

    I don’t care if Apple has jumped on the mobile payment bandwagon. This type of technology has been “in the works” for a lot of companies for a while and i still see it being only a niche application.

    • Matt P

      Niche? It’s has been well used outside the US for years. And I know quite a few guys who use it now in the US…remember we are limited on pocket space, and unless you’re batting for the other team, a guy doesn’t carry a purse :P

      The only thing I carry now is a single picture ID and my phone. My phone can unlock and start my car. I don’t carry a house key because no one is going to screw with 3 100lb+ German Shepherds in my house.

  • Jarrett

    By design the AppleTV is “de-nerfed” already. MobileMe allows plenty of OTA syncing between Macs, iPhones, iPods and AppleTVs.
    Some of this can be observed by owning the product(s) and even if you don’t own the products simply reading about the product(s) will give one this information.
    The same thing that upset me in the 90′s with Microsoft we see today with Apple. Microsoft gave us updates we bought and didn’t need. After giving up on Redmond and flying solo with Apple I took these lessons with me. I buy fewer updates to software and only buy hardware updates when the are needed.

    Speaking without balance is what I love about your posts Dara. You are always missing the simple point in regards to corporations, their business is to make money.

    • Dara

      Jarrett,

      I think that I’ve pointed out the gaping hole in your perspective before.

      You only know Apple, and by that I mean that you follow the brand.

      You don’t know technology, you just know that the most comfortable end-user experience that you’ve experienced is the one that they chose to set up.

      When I say “nerfed”, I mean that they are purposely lacking some very useful and easily implemented features, like DLNA and standard USB data transfer connectivity for the iPhone.

      These are the two most relevant examples to my comment above, but they illustrate the wider Apple compromise perfectly. It’s only recently that Apple “discovered” HDMI.

      I find it absurd that a company makes a business decision, i.e. nerfing to restrict its users’ capabilities, and then files a patent on how they’re going to change their mind. I just don’t respect it.

      That being said, I might be getting an iPhone 4 soon. It’s only $160 (going to sign a contract anyway) and I know I can flip it to pay for a much more valuable Meego phone when it gets released.

  • JohnH

    This plays into the strength of Apple, with homogeneous hardware and software. Once this is integrated into the iPhone, every new iPhone (and possibly iPod Touch) will have hardware and software support. This enables them to work with other parties, such as vending machine companies, Point-of-Sale terminal companies, etc. Most of these other parties are not likely to support a long-term exclusive agreement, but may support a short-term exclusivity agreement.

    With Android, one manufacturer may have this as idea, who then has to work with Google to get the capability into Android. Finally, they have to convince the other end of the NFC to support Android with a fragmented hardware/OS base. Alternatively, Google could add OS support, and hope for hardware support.

    I don’t doubt that Android will have a compatible feature, but it will be later that Apple, and Apple is likely to be able to collect patent royalties since they will be setting the standards.

    • Jarrett’s illegitimate son

      DAD! Shutup!! You really don’t know what you’re talking about!! Man, you embarrass the entire family.

      • Jarrett

        I could be wrong and it wouldn’t be the first time but I think you may have posted that in the wrong spot.

      • Jarrett’s illegitimate son

        Yeah well, I just pawned your soldering set & Mac for Dummies library.

      • Ernie

        Your not a very smart boy. Are you?

  • travis

    Yup, because if theres anything I need more of in my life it the prison that is the iTunes ecosystem. F it, im going back to 8-track tapes and two cans with a piece of string.

  • Matt P

    Android was created in 2001 and bought by Google in 2003…that would make Apple the copy-cats.

    You really have no clue about software do you?

    • Matt P

      err…Google bought in 2005, not 03, sorry

  • LCW

    finally… a technology that the Japanese have had on their Keitais (Osaifu-Keitai) for the last what, 10 years???

  • PAPINYC

    Walter, Walter, Walter……

    You misspelled it;
    it is actually spelled
    i-Diot !

    Riddle:
    When you were born,
    who did the doctor slap?

    ! enoyreve ,wonk t’nob-i : rewsnA

    You should get together with Ernie;
    Bert’s not giving to him the way he
    wants it.

    BTW, Stop scaring us with your hideous
    picture; you’re too old to try to look hip
    or cool.

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