“A property developer in Taiwan announced last week that residents of an apartment complex in Taipei County will be the first in the world to open their doors using a mobile phone. This is made possible using near field communication, by placing their phones in front of a sensor, opening their door. Each apartment is sold with 2 phones. Family members without a device can still open the door with using a finger-print recognition interface unit.”

What’s odd about this story is that you get a phone with the apartment. I understand the need for security(hence them giving you a “special phone”, i just wander which other services your new phone/key will run concurrently? Will you be able to voice with them?, Will you be signed up with a carrier? Of course, you already have a phone. Now you need to remember to take your door key..whoops…i mean extra phone too. I would suggest ditching the extra handset and using your finger-activated door key instead. It’s far faster than searching for your phone in a bag or taking it out of your pocket. This seems to be a very strange use-case for some wireless technology. What do Taiwanese know that we don’t or is this just plain crack-smoking design?

Taipei Times article

The picture seems to only be showing a demonstration of the technology rather than a real door, unless you are a mouse, or a bag of chips.

[Update - i found the original post, which explains more about the expected use of the mobile, it can be used for local services: parking, travel, building announcements. Apparently the property developer was involved in constructing Bill Gates mansion over in Seattle]