New Apple patent application renews speculation for location-based iPhone data networks

Remember that Apple patent application that hinted at the Cupertino-based fruit-company working with Starbucks? Right, well it's looking ever more likely that Apple will come through with a location-based solution allowing iPhone owners to interact with their surroundings.

The previous patent application surfaced in December. The USPTO documentation outlined a method by which iPhone users could order Starbucks menu items remotely from their iPhone and be notified when the order was ready to be picked up. I even posted some really cool mock-ups on what the whole iPhone-Starbucks system could look like.

Now there's a new patent application from Apple that hints at more location-based services in store for the iPhone. The newest documentation hints at bringing the iPhone-Starbucks idea into other niches - local events, movies, concerts, restaurant reviews. By using a short-range wireless network, like the AT&T WiFi HotSpots that we're starting to see in Starbucks and Barnes & Nobles locations, Apple wants to enable iPhone users to order from customized menus according to particular food preferences or allergies. The expanded system could even allow for remote purchasing of movie and concert tickets.

Furthermore, the location-based system could be used to push customized information to iPhone passing by particular business-fronts - flight schedules, maps, weather, and city information in an airport, for example. All an iPhone user would need to do is log into the wifi network with their iPhone in order to get all the local information pushed to the handset.

The idea is intriguing and could be used to great success in restaurants and airports. It would be great to order from menus and buy tickets from the iPhone, but what about other mobile platforms? Let's hope Apple's patent lawyers didn't entirely lock down the idea for the iPhone alone…

[Via: Macrumors]