iPhone 4G to get RFID?

Following Apple's release of the iPhone 4G, the tech giant has filed a patent for a radio frequency identification (RFID) antenna to enable users to shop using their iPhone, reports Daily Finance.

But Locavore iPhone applications developer Buster Benson says: “The ability to use RFID to detect the presence of phones (and even identities) could really change the way we interact in social spaces.”

Although nothing has emerged from Apple on the iPhone RFID front since 2005, developers nonetheless are considering the potential applications of such a device.

DNA analysis firm Bode Technology is piloting an RFID system it developed to manage DNA evidence, states RFID Journal.

If the pilot, held at the company's Virginia lab, goes well, Bode Technology plans to deploy the system for 50 000 or more pieces of evidence annually as they move through the company's facility.

Randy Nagy, Bode's sales and marketing VP, explains that the technology can record a DNA sample's movement from the crime scene through testing and storage, and can be used to prove evidence in a courtroom.

Imation has partnered with RFID Global Solution to offer an asset tracking solution providing real-time location and security management for IT organisations, says RFID News.

The solution will pair the two companies' technologies to enable users to deploy a single RFID-based system for securing and tracking all of their IT assets, including data storage tapes.

The DataGuard RFID system is compatible with the RFID Global Visi-Trac software as part of a full security solution.