Author: Denny

Apple may be including Near Field Communication (NFC) tech in its next gen iPhone.

According to a recent report from BrightWire, a New York-based global investment newsier, it is likely that Apple will be adding NFC technology into its next generation iPhone.

Apple has partnered with China UnionPay to incorporate the bankcard firm’s services into Passbook.

The BrightWire report, which obtained information from a “source close to the matter”, revealed the deal that was made between the two companies would enable iPhone users to download the bankcard company’s application to Passbook, giving users the power to make NFC payments on more than 3 million of the bankcard’s “QuickPass” POS machines in China.

The sole domestic bankcard organization and interbank network in China, China UnionPay’s network connects ATMs across the country’s fourteen major banking institutions among others. Presently, China UnionPay is creating a payments system that is consistent with its People’s Bank of China (PBOC) QuickPass standard and is compatible with the iOS platform.

UnionPay and Apple will also work together on developing a mobile payments service separate from the NFC payment. According to the source, the other mobile payment solution from the two companies will be designed for purchasing products in Apple stores.

Apple filed for an NFC technology patent earlier this year.

Media reports from earlier this year have said that in January 2014, the company filed for a patent covering NFC technology with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Some people may find it surprising if Apple incorporates Near Field Communication technology into their iPhone 6, considering back in 2012, Phil Schiller, the company’s head of marketing, stated that NFC was not the clear solution to any current problem at the time.

Last month, Ming-Chi Kuo, KGI Securities’ analyst predicted Apple would incorporate several features into its next gen iPhone, including NFC chips. There has also been news that Apple is looking into developing a mobile payment solution that involves the Touch ID fingerprint sensor, a feature that already exists on the iPhone 5s and is rumored to be included in the iPhone 6, as well. Another speculation that was born after the company filed for a patent in September 2013 is Apple may combine NFC technology and its current fingerprint scanner into the home button.

A smartphone focused advertising network has now been launched by the social media giant.

At the F8 developer conference, Facebook unveiled and launched their new mobile marketing network that provides the ability to target users throughout the various applications that they use on their devices.

This also gives the ability to target them for advertising based on the data they have shared with the social network.

The new mobile marketing product has been called the Facebook Audience Network, and it gives brands the ability to place their advertisements on third party applications through the use of the intricate targeting data from Facebook. This network has been under testing by the social media giant since 2012. It will give advertisers the capability to use both custom units or the traditional standard form of banner ads.

This new mobile marketing network will place Facebook in direct competition with InMobi and AdMob.

It also adds a new way in which Facebook is competing with Twitter, as that other social media platform has already taken its own type of approach to smartphone based advertising after it acquired the MoPub ad network in 2013.

So far, though there have been many efforts and repeated high hopes regarding Facebook’s mobile advertising strategies, there have yet to be a great deal of large scale successes. This, despite the fact that the social media platform claims that there are one million advertisers currently using it to reach consumers.

The signature smartphone ad, which gives developers the opportunity to be able to promote app installations, currently makes up 59 percent of the ad revenue for the company as a whole. Last Wednesday Mark Zuckerberg stated that Facebook was behind a massive 1 billion application installations until now. He added that “I’m really excited about this Audience Network,” expressing that “This is really the first time that we’re going to help you monetize in a serious way on mobile.”

This mobile marketing network is one of a series of new Facebook features that are focused on providing advertisers on developers. It is also working toward a method that will allow one app to be able to link to another without having to use a mobile web page as a “middleman” along the way.