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Square Comes Up With A Way To Do Without NFC
With all the hype about NFC being created, you would think that more and more manufacturers and developers would be rushing to embrace the technology. It does not look that way with Square as they seem to have come up with an alternative solution to NFC technology, thanks to virtual “tabs”.
What they have done is that they seem to have taken a page out of Apple’s new retail stores by using an iPhone or iPad to act as a cash register. Customers will then provide their name and their details and the person behind the “cash register” will verify the purchase and the customer will receive the receipt either via e-mail or by text. The credit card transaction will be done behind the scenes.
This is for existing customers, so for new customers they’d have to make a purchase first with the company/restaurant with their credit card before they are granted access to Square’s Card Case which is part of their app. The Card Case will contain virtual credit cards to the various institutions that you have patronized in the past.
While a pretty interesting idea I don’t see this overtaking NFC. Based on my understanding of this service it seems that you will need to make credit card purchases with the company at least once before it is stored as a virtual credit card, and this is assuming we regularly frequent the establishment, so this isn’t a very convenient service compared to NFC. Secondly not everyone owns a credit card but chances of someone owning a smartphone seems to be more likely. Also who’s to prevent the he-say and she-say situations that could arise from this system?
Now here’s an iPhone 6S case that will certainly turn heads, especially when you take into consideration its name which is known as the OnePlus iPhone 6S case. That’s rather weird, don’t you think so? It will certainly take some getting used to before the name rolls off your tongue naturally. Well, we do know that The OnePlus iPhone 6S case can now be purchased for $19.99 a pop, and no, you do not need any kind of invite before you can snag one for yourself.
Each purchase will also be accompanied by an invitation to purchase a OnePlus X, just in case, you know, you would like to tread the Android waters. All in all, it comes in the kind of material as found on the OnePlus One and OnePlus X, which makes it a whole lot harder to lose grip of when you hold it – which is good!
If you are on the lookout for either the iPhone 6S or the iPhone 6S Plus, then here is news for you – chances are pretty high that you can pick up either one, or perhaps even both if you are feeling fat in the pocket, this coming September 18th. First of all, there was a leaked internal memo from Vodafone alongside Japanese site ITHome and German tech experts Macerkopf claiming that the new iPhones 6S models will roll out this coming September 18th in their respective countries
With Japan, Germany and the UK being tier one Apple launch countries, this means that those living in the mentioned countries will receive the iPhones at the same time as folks living over in the US – traditionally speaking, of course. There really isn’t that much time left to wait, as it is less than a month away, and I am quite sure that the time will pass by sooner than you think.
It looks like the folks over at Digitimes have come up with their own interpretation of things to come – that there will be no iPad Air 3 released, at least for this year. Digitimes has had their fair share of hits and misses in the past, so it would be best to take this rumor concerning the non-release of the iPad Air 3 in 2015 with a pinch of salt.
Digitimes also laid claim that the iPad mini 4 will not be as supercharged as some of the rumors that had been going around, as it will bring with it only small and incremental upgrades when compared to its predecessor, the iPad mini 3. This does not seem to bode well for fans of the compact tablet, taking into consideration how the iPad mini 3 itself was improved over its predecessor with a new Touch ID fingerprint reader.
Since Apple tends to roll out a new iPad in October, we will just have to sit tight and see whether this particular rumor has enough “legs” to run.