News and insight into biometric identification and authentication

Biometrics a desire for next gen phones

Friday, February 19, 2010

Technology columnist Nick Bilton, in a list detailing his hopes for features on the next generation of mobile phones, wrote of his looking for functional biometric sensors and various authentication capabilities on mobile phones, according to a New York Times article.

Among the features Bilton wishes for biometric authentication on his next mobile phone is to assist with purchases and do away with passwords via his mobile phone as well as act as a theft deterrent.


Such a move wouldn’t be unbelievable as biometric technology development continues to become cheaper, more available and more effective. Bilton continues on in his list to name a number of other technologies and features he is hopeful for including video conferencing, common device awareness, green battery power, self-charging and projection capabilities.

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PayPal has announced that it will launch its first-ever pilot of NFC retail payments in Sweden for the holidays, according to Mobile Payments Today.

The company has partnered with Swedish mobile banking and payments provider Accumulate to deliver PayPal Instore, a new mobile payments app for Apple and Android smart phones.

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ValidSoft partnered with Opus Research and released a report titled “Voice Biometrics Authentication Best Practices: Overcoming Obstacles to Adoption” that predicts the technology will be deployed in payment authentication assuming the best practices it lays out are followed.

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Visa Europe has announced that NFC-enabled smart phones from Samsung, LG and Research In Motion have been certified for use with Visa payWave, Visa’s mobile application for payments at the point-of-sale.

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Ed McLaughlin, MasterCard’s head of Emerging Payments, has some good news for those waiting on NFC-enabled phones for contactless payments.

In an interview with Fast Company, McLaughlin said that he didn’t know of a handset maker who wasn’t working on integrating support for PayPass contactless payments.

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Precise Biometrics has developed a new line of “smart cases” for brands of tablets and smart phones to be released in 2012 and 2013. The new smart cases have built-in card reader and fingerprint sensor enabling users to both secure their devices as well as replace various password-based security for protected online sites and applications.

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Exclusive to Sprint since its launch in 2011, Google Wallet is now being offered on Samsung Galaxy Nexus phones from AT&T and Verizon, according to BriefMobile.

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