Apple filed the application with the US Patent Office. It states: "The device can communicate with an external device to open a lock. By way of example, the electronic device may be a model of an iPhone.
"The external device may be any suitable electronic device such as a portable media player, personal data assistant or electronic lock that may be used to access a door, car, house or other physical area."
Instead of waiting for this magical technology to appear on the next iPhone though...
