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A report out of China suggests Apple is going ahead with plans to support "wave and pay" NFC technology in the iPhone 5 and is also looking to establish a manufacturing base in South America to help meet North American demand for its products.
A new report from China Times is the latest in a steady stream of rumors indicating that the iPhone 5 will include near-field communications (NFC) technology to support mobile “e-wallet” transactions. The report says that the next-generation Apple smartphone has entered the “trial production stage” en route to a summer 2011 release.
Earlier this week, The New York Timesreported that Apple was working on developing NFC technology for a “coming” iPhone model, but didn’t indicate if that would be the iPhone 5. The new reports favoring the inclusion of NFC are in contrast with a report out of the U.K. suggesting Apple was dropping its plans for an NFC-ready iPhone 5.
China Times has reported that the phone will have a redesigned metal chassis meant to improve antennae function. The iPhone 4 was widely criticized for its poor antennae design, which was blamed for weakening signal strength when the phone was gripped in certain ways.
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