Jan 25, 2011 13:32 GMT  ·  By

Recent reports claim Apple is already placing orders for the components comprising its NFC-enabled iPhone 5 and iPad 2 devices. Manufacturing is also said to have been scheduled, so that Apple can ship the last of the two products in mid-summer.

Of particular interest in the mentioning of an NFC (Near Field Communications) chip that Apple is reportedly embedding in these devices.

Based on this, multiple sources are speculating that Apple is planning to turn its iOS-based devices into iWallets.

This isn’t the first time we hear of Apple planning to embed NFC functionality in its portables.

In fact, Apple itself has a bunch of patents covering the likelihood of this happening one day.

What is really interesting is that the company may finally be taking steps in that direction with its upcoming iPhone and iPad devices. And they key is iTunes, according to a report by TechCrunch.

More specifically, the payment system within iTunes is what Apple can leverage to practically take over the world, the blog proposes.

According to the report, the main reason NFC hasn’t been successful yet is the lack of hardware support.

And while the hardware is taking its first baby steps - the NFC-equipped Nexus S - there is still the matter of nailing down a good payment processing system.

TechCrunch notes that customers prefer PayPal to Google’s ‘Checkout’, and claims that Apple’s iTunes, which already has an all-too-well established infrastructure, would be the missing piece of the puzzle here.

“One with over 100 million accounts set up with built-in credit card access,” the report notes.

But there’s still one matter to address, and that’s the equipment needed to read Apple’s forthcoming NFC devices.

According to a knowledgeable person cited in these reports, Apple has already created a prototype of a payment terminal that could be used to scan NFC-enabled iPhones and iPads.

Cupertino is reportedly considering either subsidizing the terminal, or even giving it away to retailers.

The purpose is to encourage the adoption of NFC technology, which would greatly increase sales of its iDevices, this person reportedly added.