Indeed, last summer Apple hired Benjamin Vignier, an expert in NFC, to run its mobile commerce products; the company has also applied for a number of patents related to near-field technology.

When the heat grew unbearable, he had retreated to an orchard, where, lying on his back in the long cool grass, he had traced the pattern of the apple-leaves diapered above him upon the summer sky.

So that summer, while he publicly denied he would build an Apple phone, Jobs was working on his entry into the mobile phone industry.