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France’s Orange adds to iPhone 5 release hype

French mobile network operator Orange has broken the secrecy surrounding Apple's new iPhone 5 through a job advert, despite the US firm's ban on its partners referring to the product before its
expected September release.

Published: 15 August 2011 09:42 CEST

France's Orange adds to iPhone 5 release hype

JD Hancock

Orange which is owned by France Telecom is Apple’s official partner in France.

The advertised opening was for an engineer, a university graduate or with a business degree, who would be expected to work with the fifth-generation handset.

The offer has been available online on the France Telecom Orange human resources website since Thursday and says “one of the main issues is the definition, as precisely as possible, of what impact a handset like the iPhone 5 will have on clients’ Internet use”.

Orange also talks vaguely about a modification of the handset’s use by “iPhone 5” users.

The fifth-generation iPhone whose official name has not yet been announced is widely expected to be launched in September and available in shops shortly after.

The California company has not commented on the secrecy breach and France Telecom Orange had no comment either when contacted by AFP early Saturday.

Apple dethroned software giant Microsoft in May of last year to become the largest US technology company in terms of market cap — the number of shares multiplied by the stock price.

Apple stock has risen steadily over the past few years as chief executive Steve Jobs piloted the release of a string of hit products starting with the iPod in 2001, followed by the iPhone in 2007 and the iPad last year.

Apple’s ascension to most valuable company was seen as remarkable given that it was floundering and seemingly heading into oblivion before Jobs returned to the helm about 15 years ago.

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Hundreds of German banks make Apple Pay service available for first time

Photo: DPA

It’s been a year since the launch of Apple Pay in Germany, and significantly more consumers are now able to use the mobile payment service than ever before.

READ ALSO: Apple Pay finally launches in cash-loving Germany

On Tuesday, 371 out of a a total of 379 Germans savings banks made the service available for a total of 50 million customers.

Commerzbank, Norisbank, and LBBW (Landesbank Baden-Württemberg) are among the banks now offering the use of the service to their clients.

Integration of popular girocard system still in the works

As is typical for German banks, only credit cards and debit cards issued by the banks themselves can be integrated into the service.

A system which uses the very popular girocard, previously known as the EC card, is still in the works. This interbank network and debit card service connects virtually all German ATMs and banks.

The logo of the popular girocard brand, formerly know as EC-Karte. Photo: DPA.

Jennifer Bailey, the head of Apple Pay, said that the service will be integrated into the girocard system in the coming year.

Extra security

Apple Pay allows customers to pay using the iPhone or Apple Watch as if they were using a contactless card. The payment method also applies for internet purchases.

Users are able to unlock and approve the transactions through face identification or fingerprint scanning technology. Bailey emphasized that this technology ensures that the fraud rate is virtually zero with Apple Pay.

Contactless payment at the cash register relies on the NFC chip technology. NFC stands for “near-field communication,” and works by allowing various devices equipped with the technology to exchange data. Apple's Jennifer Bailey gives a presentation about Apple Pay in Cupertino, CA earlier this year. Photo: DPA.

It is especially secure due to the fact that communication between devices is only possible within about 10 centimeters.

The banks can only access the NFC via use of Apple Pay, due to Apple’s possession of the special high-security chip within their devices called the “Secure Element.”

German regulation challenges Apple’s dominance

Germany passed a law in late November that requires platform operators such as Apple to provide financial services, such as banks who use their technology, full access to the infrastructure, such as the NFC, which makes the system work in exchange for a small fee.

The law ensures that Apple’s rivals in the mobile payment market would still have access to the technology that makes it work.

The regulation is just one part of recent actions in Germany to regulate US technology companies and their market dominance.

Commerzbank was one of the banks to adopt the Apple Pay service recently. Photo: DPA.

Apple criticized the law but feels confident overall about accommodating it from a legal perspective. The company emphasized that it already provides access to the NFC chip infrastructure to financial service providers, thus meeting the requirements of the law.

“When a card is added to the Apple Wallet, banks can decide whether to use it to trigger secure payments from their own apps via NFC. No new law is necessary for that,” the statement said.

Banks ‘voting with their actions’

“Banks are voting with their actions by working with us on Apple Pay,” Bailey said of the bill, in regards to the latest additions and the development of a girocard solution. Apple’s system is still the safest way to pay with the iPhone.

“The only way to the NFC chip today is via Apple Pay,” Bailey said, expressing concern that any other system would jeopardize user data and security.

Translated by Kate Brady.

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