“Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs wants to patent a process that will save customers the hassle of waiting to order a cup of coffee at a local Starbuck or a fresh burger at the nearest fast food restaurant. Even better: The technology would let you jump the line of those ordering in person,” Brian Caulfield reports for Forbes.
MacDailyNews Take: Please define “fresh” as it relates to a fast-food burger.
Caulfield continues, “In an application with the U.S. Patent Office filed on Dec. 20, the Cupertino, Calif.-based computer and gadget company described a wireless system that would allow customers to place an order at a store using a wireless device such as a media player, a wireless personal digital assistant or a cellphone.”
“Apple’s application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office describes a process for placing an order and then notifying customers when an order is ready to grab at a pick-up station. One goal, the patent application notes, is to avoid an ‘annoying wait in a long queue if the purchaser arrives before completion of the order,'” Caulfield reports.
“U.S. Patent Application #20070291710 describes a device that also would keep tabs on where a user shops and what he or she likes to buy. Computers at participating stores would keep track of regular customers and their favorite orders,” Caulfield reports.
“Customers might tap a button to order their favorite drink, say a double-shot mocha, as they stroll up to the nearest coffee shop. When the drink is ready go to, the device–such as an iPhone–would chime or blink to let the thirsty one know it’s time to scoop up the order at the counter,” Caulfield reports.
Full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “ChrissyOne” for the heads up.]
Using Apple products has been letting us bypass frustrations faced by the riffraff for years. This would just add one more benefit to the burgeoning list.