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Dual-SIM HTC One Max for China Unicom leaked, may pack a fingerprint reader
Much like HTC itself, leaksters have also been hard at work to help promote this company. Courtesy of ePrice, the latest spy shots feature the upcoming 5.9-inch One Max, and specifically, this is a dual-SIM model destined for China Unicom. Like the One Dual (or better known as 802w, 802t or 802d in China), this much bigger device sports a removable metallic back cover for access to the dual SIM slots, along with what appears to be a microSD slot at the top right corner. There are also a set of docking pins towards the bottom right on the back, so chances are we'll see official dock accessories for this bad boy.
iOS 7 beta 4 hints at upcoming iPhone fingerprint sensor
Ever since Apple's purchase of biometric sensor company AuthenTec last year the rumor mill has been abuzz with predictions that a future iteration of the iPhone would employ built-in fingerprint authorization. Now, as 9to5Mac reports, Twitter user Hamza Sood has discovered a folder in the newly released iOS 7 beta 4 that references a biometric user interface, complete with descriptions of a setup process that includes images of a color-changing fingerprint and a person holding an iPhone with their thumb on the Home button. Earlier this month Apple was granted a patent for an in-display fingerprint sensor which would allow for biometric functionality while negating the need for a separate sensor panel. This new evidence certainly isn't a confirmation of such a feature being included in the next iPhone -- rumored to be called the iPhone 5S -- but it's definitely more validation than we normally see regarding rumors of this magnitude. [Image credit: Hamza Sood]
Apple granted patent for in-display fingerprint sensor
One of the most rumored features of the next iPhone is that it will have a fingerprint sensor in the device. This rumor gained more credence when Apple introduced iCloud Keychain in iOS 7, which lets users store credit card information and passwords in their iCloud account. Combined with iCloud Keychain, a fingerprint sensor on iOS devices, MacBooks and even mice would allow a user to securely and quickly enter their password or other sensitive information like credit card details and usernames, with just the touch of a button. Of course some people dismiss that Apple would add a fingerprint sensor on the next iPhone, as a traditional fingerprint sensor may skew the look of the device. But a new patent filing from Apple today suggests that Apple could keep the iPhone aesthetically pleasing by adding a fingerprint sensor directly into the screen. This means a user could simply touch a finger to the screen whenever a username, password or credit card information is required, thus enabling that user to quickly gain access to their accounts. Traditionally it has been thought that Apple would find a way to embed a fingerprint sensor in the iPhone's home button, but this new way it appears to offer a number of advantages including a much larger surface area for a user's finger and also the fact that while holding your iPhone with one hand, it is more comfortable to rest your thumb, for example, on the screen than it is to rest it on the home button.
Paytouch lets your fingerprints make purchases, hopes to expand into Europe and America next year
The business of commerce is alive and well, and while there's far too much noise for anyone to stand on the mobile side, Paytouch is hoping to add a new wrinkle on the conventional end. The Barcelona-based outfit was on hand here at The Next Web Conference, showcasing its biometric payment terminal and setting the stage for what's to come. For those unfamiliar, the Paytouch terminal is currently being used at Ushuaïa Ibiza Beach Hotel -- users with a Paytouch account simply link their credit card to their fingerprints, and a two-finger press is all it takes to order another glass of sangria. The benefits are fairly obvious for all parties involved. For the consumer, there's no longer a need to carry a credit card that can be skimmed, lost or stolen; for the retailer, it's able to encourage impulse buying in an entirely new way; for Paytouch, there's a commission paid on each purchase.
AOptix Stratus lets iPhone users check ID through eyes, faces, fingers and voices
The many attempts at weaving biometric identification into mobile devices have usually focused on only one aspect at a time, whether it's fingerprints or voices, and often for access to just the device itself. AOptix isn't quite so narrowly focused. Its new Stratus system combines an app with a custom iPhone 4 / 4S case (the Stratus MX) to verify faces, irises, fingerprints and voices for grander purposes, whether it's office workers checking in or entire national ID programs. The bundle should be more portable than most such alternatives, as well as more intuitive through its familiar interface. Odds are that you won't be buying a Stratus kit to scan friends and family at home, though. Apart from the bundle's lack of support for the iPhone 5 or any non-iOS platform, the Stratus software in the App Store isn't an impulse purchase at $199 -- and an emphasis on quotation-based case sales likely means you'll be the scanner's target, not its owner.
Insert Coin: PIPA Touch fingerprint reader lets phone owners authenticate most anything
In Insert Coin, we look at an exciting new tech project that requires funding before it can hit production. If you'd like to pitch a project, please send us a tip with "Insert Coin" as the subject line. Mobile security beyond PIN codes and passwords is usually a tentative affair. There's fingerprint readers, but they're often specific to the device or the platform, and sometimes limited to just a handful of tasks. Team PIPA wants to raise funds for a more universal solution. Its PIPA Touch scanner can add biometric authentication to phones' lock screens, websites and other tasks through a developer kit, and a modular design lets it slip into cases for the Android, iOS and Windows Phone devices that should receive support. Security goes beyond most fingerprint readers, as well: while a basic swipe-and-done scan is an option, the truly cautious can require a multi-scan sequence that fends off just about any intruder.
Apple files patent application for fingerprint sensor that can be transparent or opaque
While Apple has flirted with biometric-based patents before, we've yet to see them implemented in real-world technology. That hasn't stopped it from filing yet another one though, as the latest application reveals a fingerprint sensor apparently embedded into the iPhone itself. The patent describes a hardware "window" that can become selectively "transparent or opaque." When transparent, it would reveal a component comprised of an "image capture device, a strobe flash, a biometric sensor, a light sensor, a proximity sensor, or a solar panel, or a combination thereof" as a method of unlocking the phone. According to the filing, the biometric sensor in question might indeed be a fingerprint reader. The document goes on to describe an alternative method using face or eye recognition technology that can be used not just for security purposes, but for possible e-commerce solutions like completing an online transaction. Of course, take any of these patent applications with a generous pinch of salt -- we haven't seen an Apple stylus yet, for example -- but perhaps this is the reason Apple bought fingerprint sensor maker AuthenTec back in July.
Sony patents player recognition on sci-fi scale
A patent Sony filed in May 2012 was recently uncovered, indicating the company has interest in knowing exactly who the users of its products are. The patent, titled "Process and Apparatus for Automatically Identifying User of Consumer Electronics," describes the inclusion of fingerprint sensors that would read biometric data of its users on products such as phones, keyboards and gaming controllers.The patent's abstract reads, "A user of a device may be uniquely identified using a metric that is contingent upon the user using the device for its intended purpose without the user having to perform a separate step, function or operation for the express purpose of identifying the user." The document continues to elaborate on context-sensitive content that would be automatically generated for users upon identification.Biometric data has mingled with gaming before, most notably when Nintendo introduced (but did not release) the Vitality Sensor device.
Precise Biometrics' Tactivo for iPhone, iPad locks data by fingerprint and smart card, is overkill for your diary (video)
iOS device security has regularly been a concern of the government, but locking down one of Apple's devices for the government is still fresh. Precise Biometrics hopes to have the problem licked through the Tactivo, a combo fingerprint and smart card reader for the iPhone 4 / 4S (and the iPad, in the summer). Either method keeps data inside an app away from prying eyes, and while they won't tighten the security around the built-in apps, they do make sure a third-party app's data meets US and international government privacy specs without having to use a BlackBerry. We're not surprised that the Tactivo needs to engulf the iPhone in a full case to work its magic, although there's a micro-USB port to keep it powered and synced up. It's all a bit much if you're just trying to make sure your list of high school crushes stays a secret, and the price reflects that -- at $249 a pop, the Tactivo is really meant for agencies and companies for whom losing the data on an iPhone would cost a lot more. Still, if you're running an outfit encouraging BYOD phone use or just really, really want your secret passions to stay private, both the iPhone case and a BioSecrets app are ready today.
Fujitsu readies its 'final model' quad-core smartphone for reveal next week
We laid our hands on Fujitsu's quad-core prototype at the start of the year, it now looks like the phone's now ready to show itself outside the confines of a perspex box. Wielding a Tegra 3 chipset, there's still no official name for the incoming handset, but we're promised admirable battery life and those increasingly typical (for Japan, at least) water resistant credentials. We've also been told that this will be close to -- if not the -- final model of the handset, so we should get to test out that fingerprint sensor in person. Sure, it's not the only quad-core device we're expecting to see at MWC, but we'll welcome it with open arms -- if it does make the journey outside of Japan.
Canon adds AirPrint to Pixma printers
Canon today announced 3 of its all-in-one Pixma printers will now support AirPrint from Apple. The printers are the MG8220, the MG6220 and the MG5320. Canon has posted a web page with more details. Some of the printers may require a firmware update to function properly. AirPrint is the wireless printing technology Apple introduced in iOS 4.2, offering print services from the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. Originally, AirPrint was heralded to work with a variety of printers networked to a Mac, but when actually released AirPrint worked with only a handful of HP products. Third parties have offered AirPrint functionality to get around the Apple restrictions. Printopia works quite well, and works with almost any networked printer. Another Bonjour-based printing solution is available from FingerPrint,
Fujitsu fingerprint / palm reader does large-scale biometric identification, won't tell fortunes
So it can't predict the future, but the latest biometric reader from Fujitsu can tell that you're one in a million -- quite literally. Looking something akin to the love child of Simon and a Polaroid camera, this as-of-yet unnamed device is apparently the "world's first biometric authentication technology that combines data on palm vein patterns with fingerprint data from three fingers." That's a mouthful, but Fujitsu says the combination of these two biometric authentication techniques allows for accurate identification of an individual in a pool of one million in just two seconds. What's more, it expects to up that capacity to groups of ten million by the end of 2011. For professional evildoers rocking three fingers and a palm, maybe now's a good time to start rethinking your career path. [Thanks, Pavel]
AIRPrint performs ranged fingerprint scanning, won't let the terrorists win
While ears may be the new biometric du jour, Advanced Optical Systems (AOS) is doing its best to keep fingerprints as the preferred method for identifying enemies of the state. The company has built a fingerprint scanner with the ability to accurately read a print up to two meters away, and our military views the system as a means to reduce the risk to soldiers at security checkpoints all over the world. The AIRPrint system is a significant upgrade over previous biometric security systems because it allows a person's identity to be confirmed by military personnel from behind the safety of a blast wall or armored vehicle, which keeps our serviceman out of harm's way. AIRPrint uses a source of polarized light and two 1.3 megapixel cameras (one to receive vertically polarized light and another to receive horizontally polarized light) in order to produce an accurate fingerprint. The prototype is able to scan and verify a print in under five seconds, but the device can presently only process one finger at a time, and that finger must stay a fixed distance from the cameras to get a precise reading. Despite these current limitations, AOS claims that soon the equipment will be capable of reading five prints simultaneously while a person is moving toward or away from the device. The system will be ready for market in the third quarter of this year, which is bad news for terrorists and soccer hooligans, but a windfall for Big Brother.
AirPrint Hacktivator enables AirPrint for any printer
You've updated your iPad and iPhone to iOS 4.2, and you want to print something, ... anything, but that printer hooked up to your Mac doesn't show up in the list of available devices. What can you do to make your iOS user experience complete? As Mike noted in his AirPrint roundup last week, Netputing took note of the re-enabling process that Chris posted about and created a little hack called AirPrint Hacktivator (which now uses a different method than it did originally, see below). You can easily install it on your Mac and be printing like a maniac from your iOS 4.2 device in minutes. It's a simple, non-Terminal way to fool your iPad or iPhone into thinking that your shared printer just happens to be one of those HP ePrint printers that work seamlessly with AirPrint.
Hands on: iPad printing with 4.2 and AirPrint, a limited menu
If AirPlay's first-generation limitations have disappointed a lot of would-be iPhone video mavens who had dreamed of quickly sharing their clips to the big screen, you can just imagine how irate everyone is about AirPrint. The universal shared printer solution for iPhone and iPad was kneecapped in late builds of Mac OS X 10.6.5 for reasons yet to be revealed, and the result is that a big-ticket feature has shipped with very little real-world applicability -- at least, out of the box. Fortunately, if you're willing to do a little bit of finagling or lay out a small amount of cash, you can quickly gain back the AirPrint functionality you were promised, and more. Let's take a quick look at what's in the 'vanilla' version of AirPrint, then move on to the expanded remix edition.
AirPrint on steroids: first look at Printopia, bringing shared printer support for iPad
When Apple removed AirPrint shared printer support from Mac OS X 10.6.5, it created a functionality gap that developers moved quickly to fill. Yesterday, TUAW took a first look at FingerPrint, an AirPrint solution that enables iDevice printing to many Mac OS X shared printers. Today, we have an exclusive first peek at Printopia, a competing product from long-established Mac developer Ecamm. Like FingerPrint, the $9.95 Printopia allows non-supported printers to work directly with Apple's new wireless AirPrint functionality; both products also allow PowerPC users on Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard to share printers for iPad use (a great way to get some utility out of that G4 Mac mini in the closet). But that's just where Printopia gets started. This easy-to-use system control panel expands AirPrint features to provide support for Dropbox file sharing and printing to Mac-based PDF files.
FingerPrint app for Mac enables AirPrint for the printers Apple left behind
Printing never "just works," does it? There always has to be some wrench thrown in. We were hoping Apple was about to solve some of that with AirPrint, but at the last minute it left out the Mac printer-sharing functionalities that were supposedly going to arrive with Mac OS X 10.6.5. That means as of right now the only way to do AirPrint with the yet-to-be-released iOS 4.2 is to buy one of those fancy new HP printers with the AirPrint-compatible ePrint functionality. We're guessing Apple is just giving this feature a little more time in the oven, but if you're just too passionate about printing things to wait, the FingerPrint application from Collobos might fill the void. The $8 app shares just about any printer that your Mac can find over Bonjour and... well, that's about it. Some printers work, some don't, and there's a trial period to find out if it'll work with your particular setup. Too rich for your blood? There's always the hack.
Hands on: FingerPrint enables AirPrint for many non-compliant OS X printers
FingerPrint is a new Mac OS X application from Collobos Software that enables AirPrint printing for many OS X printers. AirPrint is Apple's new wireless printing technology for iOS devices. It works over Bonjour, Apple's version of zero configuration networking, allowing devices and services to communicate with each other on local area networks. As originally planned, AirPrint was supposed to provide printing to shared OS X printers and to a small group of HP printers that support HP's ePrint mobile printing service. However, this feature was disabled in the final Mac OS X 10.6.5 release, and AirPrint now only supports the HP printers. FingerPrint brings the capability back to shared printers without having to resort to Terminal commands. The $7.99 application works by browsing for Bonjour printer services. When it finds them, it re-advertises the printers adding a special field to the Bonjour data that indicates AirPrint compliance. By projecting that compliance information, your iOS devices are able to detect and then write to those printers using standard OS X protocols. Update: See our exclusive first look at Ecamm's competitive offering, Printopia for Mac
Shocker: Touchscreen smudge may give away your Android password pattern
Fast food connoisseurs should pay special attention here -- according to a recent paper by the University of Pennsylvania, Android users are inadvertently leaving their nine-dot lock patterns in the open, courtesy of their fingers' oily smear on the screen. Specifically, the study on potential "smudge attacks" found that partial or complete patterns could be easily retrieved -- even with added noise on the display or after incidental clothing contact -- by using various lighting and camera orientation settings for the smear analysis. Should we be surprised? No. But should our phones be getting Froyo sooner for the extra PIN and QWERTY password options? Hell yeah.
LaCie's Rugged Safe external HDD is rugged, safe
While LaCie has certainly created some fanciful product designs over the years, its product naming is often quite succinct. Take the Rugged series, the drop-proof external storage solution, which is now welcoming the Rugged Safe model into the family. This version adds a fingerprint scanner recessed into its armor-plated case, which encapsulates either 500GB or 1TB of storage that is now also cloaked in 128-bit AES encryption. Up to 10 registered users can be added, who can access files via USB or FireWire, but sadly neither USB 3.0 nor eSATA are on offer. Despite the limited connectivity you'll naturally be paying a more for the added security, with the 500GB model costing $189 and the 1TB version jumping to $299. Compare that to $119 and $159 for the biometric-free versions and you can see just how much that little fingerprint of yours can cost you. %Gallery-93714%
