Apple Files Patents for Location-Based Services

December 28, 2007

Forbes is reporting this morning that Apple is keen on getting into the location-based services game and has gone to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office to file several interesting patent applications to that end.

In one filing, Forbes said Apple:

“…described a wireless system that would allow customers to place an order at a store using a wireless device such as a media player, a wireless personal digital assistant or a cellphone.”

The article further discusses

…a process for placing an order and then notifying customers when an order is ready to grab at a pick-up station. One goal, the patent application notes, is to avoid an “annoying wait in a long queue if the purchaser arrives before completion of the order.”

So Starbucks customers will be able to order their favorite beverage before they even walk into the store, and they’ll be able to skip the line to boot! That’s an extra 2–3 minutes more people can sleep in, or perhaps they can be 2–3 minutes more productive.