RFID for the iPhone?

Reports are coming in that Apple has plans to build radio frequency identification (RFID) capabilities into its next iPhone, according to The Christian Science Monitor.

Most people think of RFID as the cards and scanners used for corporate building access, but recent advances in near-field communication (NFC) have broadened the spectrum of RFID's uses.

Einar Rosenberg, who runs the NFC LinkedIn group, says: “A highly reliable source has informed me that Apple has built some prototypes of the next-gen iPhone with an RFID reader built in and they have seen it in action.”

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government has set a goal to make Hong Kong an RFID centre and trendsetter in the Asia-Pacific Region, reports China View.

The Commissioner for Innovation and Technology, Janet Wong, at the Hong Kong RFID Awards presentation ceremony on Tuesday, said the government spared no effort in promoting the development of RFID technology, to facilitate its adoption in local industries, as well as to encourage the general public to realise its importance.

"The establishment of the Hong Kong RFID Centre last year in Hong Kong Science Park and the continuous funding support for RFID research projects are some of the examples," she says.

IBM has released an upgraded version of its InfoSphere Traceability Server, which includes returnable container management functionality to enable customers to track the whereabouts of their containers using RFID tags, states V3.

The offering has been designed to cut the costs and shipping delays associated with lost or misplaced returnable containers and could reduce inventory costs by up to 40%, IBM says.

The system is already used to track valuable items such as pharmaceuticals and medical implants, but was modified following work the vendor undertook with major car manufacturers to help them manage their automobile parts supply chain.