Published on 12/27/2007
Apple has patented a transactions system that would allow customers with Apple devices to place an order, and receive a pick-up notification in places like cafes - this is just an example, the system could be used for many more things. Of course, the customer’s preferences could also be archived for further use like making your next order easier or spamming you to death with targeted advertising (I’m just speculating here).
Anyhow, from a business standpoint, that seems fantastic: Not only Apple gets awesome raw data that it can possibly monetize later, but you could also imagine that Apple would ask for a share of each transaction, just like Visa and Mastercard do… Link to the long, boring patent, written in Lawyer