Iphone 5s

Sunday, 16 October 2011

iPhone 5, Siri, Google Wallet and credit cards

Apple has sold 1 million iPhone 4S in 24 hours, Siri has made the voice command feature more popular — is NFC and credit card payment system next?

Apparently, Apple’s new smartphone, the iPhone 4S, is a popular device based on long lines seen outside Apple and third-party stores, and the number of customers who pre-ordered the phone on day one. According to Apple, the iPhone 4S was pre-ordered by not less than 1 million customers in less than 24 hours, making the device their most successful iPhone to date.
The reason? Well, one of the possible attractive new features (aside from the 8-megapixel camera) of the iPhone 4S that drove sales — is the Siri application, the virtual assistant exclusive for the new iPhone. Siri is the voice-controlled personal assistant for the iPhone 4S that can answer typical to strange questions like “what’s the weather,” or “what’s the square root of 25″ and more.
Siri is, obviously, a popular feature. In fact, some users have complained that the voice command feature was not working due to network congestion. For starters, Siri requires a network connection to function and respond properly.
One YouTube user said in a video, “It seems that there is a problem with Siri,” with some users adding that Siri was displaying “having problems connecting to network.” The problem is fixed now, but the problem clearly shows that many iPhone 4S users are using the service.


If Siri is popular, and Apple has made the voice command feature more popular in US, can the computer company also make the mobile payment system more attractive? Apparently, Google is already offering the Google Wallet, the powerful new mobile payment system which uses NFC or Near Field Communication for every wireless payment transaction. Google Wallet can save Citi Mastercard or other credit cards via the company’s prepaid card service.
Apple’s possible 2012 smartphone, the iPhone 5, may (or may still not) include NFC or Near Field Communication, one of the ingredients of mobile payment system. According to the latest rumor about the iPhone 5, the device will land on stage next summer, and the device will include new features like complete outer redesign, new processor, LTE  and the NFC. These rumors must be taken with a grain of salt, but NFC on an iPhone is a little to highly possible, especially if Apple will follow the mobile technology trend.
However, an article posted by PC World last January claimed that Apple’s mobile payment will fail. Some of the reasons, according to writer Tom Spring, are lack of dedicated Apple customer support, no room for another machine in a retail store (that will access the NFC of a smartphone) and Apple’s success may lead to ugly credit card rivalry, and “credit card players play hardball” against Apple.
A new store posted by USA Today on Sunday said that there are concerns regarding the mobile payment system like hacking, compromised information and so much more. But the so-called concerns mentioned, obviously, are actually the same concerns if you own a plastic credit card. Google Wallet is a very promising service, in fact, paying a cab by tapping your Nexus S 4G (Sprint) and entering your password in the smartphone is easier.
Can Apple’s next smartphone, possibly the iPhone 5 with NFC, make the NFC credit card payment system more popular especially in US? Or the NFC wireless credit card payment feature is not needed yet?

This report was originally posted on PopHerald.com as iPhone 5, Siri, Google Wallet and credit cards, under Gadgets and Mobile Category. Sources: PC World, USA Today, Business Wire.
Related articles:
iPhone 4S, iOS 5 release date: Reviews appear in Youtube
iPhone 5 frustration: iPhone 4S preorder sales disagree
Siri “not working” on iPhone 4S outside US, iPhone 4

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