Apple planning iPhone-based transaction system?

A new Apple patent application suggests that the company is working on a wireless transaction system for devices such as the iPhone and iPod touch that would allow customers to order quick service items like coffee and fast food directly from their device, and to receive notification when their order was ready. According to the patent, the goal is to avoid an “annoying wait in a long queue if the purchaser arrives before completion of the order.” The application also describes a way to keep tabs on customers’ shopping preferences and favorite orders. Forbes says that the patent puts the Apple/Starbucks partnership “in a new light,” stating that the technology could move Apple “from the business of simply selling gadgets and music and movies that can be played on those devices into an intermediary in all kinds of exchanges.”