“Users would simply have to enter a pin code and wave the device over an electronic pad fitted beside a door to open it,” Gray reports. “The technology is revealed in a newly published patent application, which has generated speculation that the next model of the iPhone will contain this feature.”
“The iKey uses a similar principal to the technology employed by card access entry systems commonly used in many workplaces and the Oyster Card, used on public transport in London. Car manufacturers, including Mercedes, Lexus and Toyota, are also starting to use such keyless entry systems for their vehicles through key fobs,” Gray reports. “According to the patent, Apple hopes to replace these cards and keyfobs by allowing the iPhone to be used instead to unlock doors to buildings and cars.”
Gray reports, “The iKey technology will take Apple one step further towards creating a ubiquitous mobile device that is the only thing people need to carry in their pockets… eander Kahney, a consumer technology expert and author of a book and blog called the Cult of Mac, said there were strong rumours that Apple had already been testing the technology and it could lead to the company even trying to replace consumers’ wallets.”
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Makes perfect sense, especially if you want to minimize scratching your iPhone in your pocket. We can see Apple’s slogan already: “No keys, no coins, no scratches.”
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Dirty Pierre le Punk” for the heads up.]
Will there be customer support for iKey issues?
How about Applecare for iKey?
Will HTC copy one for themselves?
Meh, it’s a bit early for April 1st…
1) Physical keys are extremely unsecure. Just ask any locksmith. I spoke to one before and he laughed and said that keys give people a sense of security but in reality they are useless. He said you should have huge bolts on the doors when you go to sleep and have a good alarm system.
2) The iPhone/iPod glass can scratch. I’ve seen my friend’s get all scratched up by the keys in his pocket. The glass is hard but it’s not diamond. My iPhone is OK because I have protection film but I have an iPod touch and the glass is nicked, and I don’t even abuse it; I take care of it but there’s no film and now it’s nicked. So, don’t go believing the iPhone glass is “untouchable.”
Conspiracies in my lifetime:
• The Apollo moon landings were faked by the US government
• The oil crisis of 1979 was created by the oil companies
• The attacks of 9/11 were orchestrated by Jews
This is the thinking of simpletons. My favorites involve “the government”, inefficient and blundering at most everything else, pulling off massive intrigues involving thousands of people with clockwork precision.
ChrissyOne writes, “This is a trade war, pure and simple, ignited by the fact that no one bought an American car with their Clunker Cash, they all bought Toyotas.”
Actually, Ford did well from the program – the taxpayers, not so much. Amortizing the cost of the program against the marginal increase in sales (beyond those that would have been purchased without the program), it came to some $30,000 per car sold – not to mention the resultant higher costs on the used car market. And, yes, foreign brands benefited more than US brands. The same holds for the “green energy” portion of the stimulus. The “wind energy” component no doubt created more jobs in China than the US.
Regarding the iKey, I for one wouldn’t trust all my sensitive data in one place that could be lost or compromised. And Motor Week’s Goss, in a piece on “smart keys”, points out that repairing or replacing today’s keys can cost hundreds of dollars. I lost a spare key to my ’89 Prelude. It cost me $3 at Ace to replicate it.
Of course, it will only work with the iCar… Also, buy your next house in the App Store.
@Quad Core
iPick? Don’t buy that app. Use a Kleenex or you’ll make your nose bleed.
@ Rot’nApple
“Keep the political crap out of Health Care, too!”
Yeah, keep government out of this business before it gets its hands on MediCare.
This April 1st story was released 3 1/2 weeks early……..
Zipcar for iPhone already does this.
@ChrissyOne…
Be careful, you’ll confuse the poor saps with shallow brain pans and permanently scraped knuckles (they drag y’know).
Yeah, keep the government out of it and let the CIA handle it.
Meanwhile, read this book to get some idea what is going on.
THE SECRET TEAM
The CIA and Its Allies in Control of the United States and the World
by L. FLETCHER PROUTY Col., U.S. Air Force (Ret)
Then you will know why the iKey is needed.
When it’s said Windows can never be secure there is a good reason for that, for Mac, who knows, can I see the source code?
Let me see, you have the iKey in iPhone and can open all the doors in your life, then you do auto sync with your computer, and Ö,Ö suddenly Homeland Security 人 can visit you without you knowing it.
For some reason I prefer people spending 2 hours drilling through my apartment front door than zapping through with an iPhone. Yes, that actually happened, 6 dead bolts and a steel door, Chinese style.
@TheConfuzed1
yo, butt whistle!? Your powder is a bit wet. Just how long has it been since ‘yota customers started complaining about this “issue”? That’s right. The year was 2000. With a little math, stay with me, that would make it 10 years ago.
Listen to C1. She is spot on.