The means of communication would include pneumatic mail tubes, telephones, telegraphs, radios, and mechanically composed newspapers. -- Howard P. Segal, The Technological Utopians, in Joseph J. Corn (Ed.), Imagining Tomorrow: History, Technology and The American Future (Cambridge: MIT Press, 1986).
The magnetic interference can also cause problems with NFC performance on the new iPhones, and Apple has now started warning manufacturers in its MFi program with accessories supporting the devices to avoid magnets or metal.
Some magnets are permanent, or always, magnetic and others are non-permanent. For example, a magnet from your refrigerator will always be magnetic. A paperclip or nail is not magnetic, but both can become non-permanent magnets when touched by a strong enough fridge magnet.