"Modern day pickpockets don't need to touch you to steal your money", warns ThinkGeek on the emergence of RFID-enabled credit and debit cards.

Although such thieves would have to be high tech wizards complete with the necessary kit, if you want to be belt and braces secure then the Flipside wallet is for you.

The card side of the wallet holds up to six cards and is "fully RFID shielded, keeping your info locked up and secure" and protected from sneaky scanning scumbags.

The cash side of things has space for notes, receipts, tickets, photos and the like and the whole shebang closes - no doubt with a satisfying click - with a secure locking mechanism.

The Flipside wallet is on sale now from ThinkGeek for $39.99.

Related links:

• Shop - ThinkGeek

Tags: Gadgets Wallets ThinkGeek RFID NFC

Flipside wallet safeguards RFID cards originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Mon, 23 Nov 2009 16:41:42 +0000

Apple is rumoured to be testing some prototypes of a next-generation iPhone that includes an RFID reader built in. According to Einar Rosenberg, who runs LinkedIn's Near Field Communications group, "the reaction was very positive that we can expect this in the next gen iPhone".

We're a little skeptical. Not that Apple is testing RFID in iPhones, after all - it's patented the idea, but that it'll be showing up in the next iPhone in June 2010. On the one hand, near-field communications is a growing industry, but on the other hand there's relatively few places you can use it right now (outside of the Oyster Card system on the London tube network).

Rosenberg posits that it could be used to link iPhones to Macs for syncing purposes, which is possible. We think it's more likely, though, that this is an extension of Apple's new iPod-touch based purchasing systems for Apple store staffers, and could make its way into a more enterprise-targeted product.

What do you reckon? Tell us in the comments.

Note: The embedded video above is from the Touch Project's iPhone RFID Demonstration - it's not an Apple video.

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Tags: Phones iPhone Apple Mobile phones RFID Concepts Rumours Video

VIDEO: Apple prototyping RFID iPhones? originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Fri, 06 Nov 2009 11:01:36 +0000

Barclaycard has announced another high street retailer is to roll out a contactless payment system for its OnePulse cards.

Sandwich, soup and cofee shop EAT is to offer wave and pay transactions across its entire chain of 100 stores from mid-November.

The roll out follows an 18-month trial across 30 EAT shops in London, seeing the faster way to pay soon to be available in cities such as Manchester, Birmingham, Oxford and Cambridge.

Barclaycard's contactless payment network now includes more than 9000 outlets in the UK inluding Pret a Manger, Coffee Republic, the National Trust, Books Etc and Yo Sushi.

Tags: Gadgets EAT Barclaycard Barclays RFID NFC

EAT to offer contactless payment nationwide originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Mon, 02 Nov 2009 11:28:38 +0000

In the States a college inventor has created an RFID-enabled coffee cup, allowing for wave-and-pay transactions in coffee houses without getting your wallet out.

While here in the UK NFC phones and RFID card systems have and are being trialled by both the London Underground and coffee shop type establishments, Chris Hallberg has taken a link out of the chain by adding the RFID chip directly to the cup.

The Smug Mug system will be in use sometime next year at a local Milwaukee coffee chain, Stone Creek Coffee, but Hallberg is hoping the concept might get picked up by larger companies looking to boost customer loyalty from time-pressed commuters.

The suggested price for the re-usable Smug Mug is $15, a price tag that include $5 credit for the relevant store.

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Related links:

• Link - Smug Mug

Tags: Gadgets RFID Biz Smug Mug Eco

Smug Mug adds RFID chip to coffee cup originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Tue, 20 Oct 2009 16:16:12 +0100