CultofMac has received a tip from an anonymous source that claims Apple might be getting ready to go all in on near-field communication (NFC), with next June's iPhone 5 potentially leading the way:

“The Mac authenticates with the iPhone, which contains a lot of the information the computer needs, such as bookmarks, passwords and other data,” said our source, who asked to remain anonymous. “The system would essentially turn any Apple computer into your own — like you’re actually working on your own computer. Same settings, look, bookmarks, preferences. It would all be invisible. Your iPhone would be all you needed to unlock your Mac....Address book would show their contacts, and the user would have full access to their information in the same manner they would if they were working from home. This same behavior extends to even showing the same desktop picture, mouse and keyboard settings, and would eventually extend to software licenses and passwords for websites such as Facebook....When a person walks away with their iPhone and away from the communication link with the Mac, the original settings of the Mac would be restored. All communications and storage of passwords stays on the user’s iPhone, leaving nothing stored on the computer....This functionality is extended to access a user’s home folder, which will be stored and accessed either through storage on MobileMe or by using the Back to My Mac feature to connect to the user’s home folder.”

The source also states that this technology has been toyed with by Apple for quite a while and it may never see the light of day. They also note that transfer speeds are not that great, and may depend on wifi or bluetooth after the initial handshake with the device.

NFC technology has been picking up speed in Asia but has yet to really see the light of day in the US. Lenovo offers this option in a few of their ThinkPads but NFC has yet to gain a foothold. If Apple adopts it, that may change.

NFC basically allows users to utilize their device as an electronic passport. Your iPhone would store your personal settings, bookmarks, keychain passwords, and desktop settings. When you're in range of an NFC compatible Mac or other device, it could essentially turn that Mac into your desktop. Similar to remote desktop. The difference is that you don't have to initiate a login or store local data. If you walk out of range of the Mac or NFC compatible device, your information would no longer be accessible. The device would simply go back to its previous state and no traces of your information would be stores locally on the Mac or device.

Is this a feature you guys think would be useful to you?

[via CultofMac]

eWallet

Ilium Software offers their popular eWallet app for Palm, Windows Mobile Pro and Windows Mobile Smartphone. Now, you can have this useful app on your iPhone or iPod Touch.

How does eWallet for the iPhone measure up? Read on for the full review!

Credit cards, bank accounts, memberships, passwords, PIN numbers, health information -- I'm a bit ashamed to admit that this is the kind of information I used to store unsecured in Memos on my Palm or, more recently, as a Note on my iPhone. Now, I've stepped up my game and am trying eWallet.

First Impressions

The app is fairly easy to use, complete with Get Started for help, Sample Cards, and more samples to choose from. The interface is simple to use and it's great to make virtual cards to store all my personal data. 

Filling Your Wallet

With eWallet, you first must create a new "wallet" for storing your data. You can name it whatever you wish. Once a wallet is created, you assign a password to protect the data you are about to store in your wallet. Create different wallets for different categories of data, if you wish. For example, create a Credit Card wallet for all your credit cards, a Bank Accounts wallet for your bank accounts, etc. For security, eWallet provides 256-bit AES encryption to ensure your data does not fall into the wrong hands, even if your iPhone does.

After assigning a password, you can begin making virtual cards. For example, if you want to store a credit card in your wallet, you can create a virtual card complete with all your credit card data: credit card number, expiration dates, name as it appears on your card, PIN number, verification number, contact phone number, security questions, and more. After creation, you can edit your card information by tapping the "gear" icon in the lower left corner of the screen.

eWallet allows for quite a bit of customization for your virtual cards. There are several different formats to choose from, from credit cards to your driver's license, from health numbers to insurance policies. Customization doesn't end with the type of card or data you can input. eWallet gives you other options, like selecting the color for your card, the type of icon displayed on the card face, gloss effects and rounded corners. You can even select a photo from your iPhone as the background.

Whatever your data may be, it's very likely that eWallet has a way for you to store it securely on your iPhone. If you are a Windows user, good news -- you can download a desktop version so you can backup and sync your eWallet wallets to your PC. If you are a Mac user, like me, you have to wait a bit longer for a Mac desktop version. Ilium informed me that it's coming soon, so I'm looking forward to adding that feature when it's available.

Final Thoughts

Pros

• Simple interface and easy to use
• 256-bit AES encryption security
• Create several wallets
• Customizable cards for all types of data

Cons

• No Mac desktop for syncing and backup

Rating: