Descartes Biometrics has unveiled Helix, an ear detection and recognition technology that uses a smartphone owner’s unique ear features to lock and unlock their mobile device... More
Archive: Other news
Android devices get multifactor biometrics
Voice control specialist Sensory has released AppLock, a mobile app that can secure other apps on any Android device with multifactor biometric authentication... More
Ringly raises US$5.1m for light-up rings
Wearable technology company Ringly has raised US$5.1m in Series A funding to produce a range of connected jewellery that links to a smartphone, and alerts the wearer with a variety of customizable notifications by lighting up and vibrating... More
Chocolate shop sweet talks tourists with Bluetooth beacons
The largest producer of confectionery in Latvia has installed Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) beacons in its stores in the capital Riga to send information directly to a customer’s smartphone in the default language of their device... More
Juniper forecasts biometric authentication market
More than 770m mobile apps that make use of biometric authentication will be downloaded annually by 2019, up from 6m this year, Juniper Research predicts... More
Young Brits ready to ditch PINs for biometrics
Three quarters of British consumers aged 16 to 24 (76%) say they would feel comfortable using biometric security when making a payment, with more than half keen to see facial recognition, fingerprints and retina scans replace passwords and PIN codes altogether... More
Alibaba invests in visual QR codes
Chinese ecommerce giant Alibaba has invested an undisclosed sum in Israeli start-up Visualead, developer of the “visual” QR code technology adopted by Chinese social media site RenRen in May last year... More
Galaxy S6 to get new fingerprint sensor?
Samsung could replace the swipe-based fingerprint sensor used on the Galaxy S5 with a touch-based sensor on the Galaxy S6, expected to be introduced in the coming months... More
USAA adds face and voice verification to mobile banking app
Financial services group the United Services Automobile Association (USAA) is to enable its members to use biometric authentication, including face and voice verification, to log in to their accounts on their smartphone... More
TempTraq offers wearable Bluetooth thermometer
Printed power solutions provider Blue Spark Technologies has unveiled TempTraq, a thermometer in the form of a patch that adheres to the skin to monitor body temperature for 24 hours and sends the results to a compatible mobile app via Bluetooth... More
Apple proposes fingerprints in the cloud
The US Patent & Trademark Office has published three patent applications from Apple that relate to both Apple Pay and Touch ID biometric verification... More
Apple Watch owners to get beacon promos at Marsh Supermarkets
US grocery chain Marsh Supermarkets is to use Bluetooth beacons to deliver targeted information such as shopping lists and recipes directly to a shopper’s Apple Watch or smartphone, marking the “world’s first iBeacon-wearable integration at retail”... More
Calorie counting app uses Bluetooth beacons in fridges to help users lose weight
Carrot, a suite of mobile apps designed to push users into better behaviours, has added a calorie-counting app that works in conjunction with a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) beacon placed inside a fridge to help users lose weight, by keeping track of their daily calorie intake and punishing them for overeating... More
ViewSonic gives glimpse of smartphone with iris scanner
Projector and display manufacturer ViewSonic has released a teaser video for a smartphone equipped with iris recognition that would enable users to unlock their phone, files and folders as well as authenticating mobile payments... More
CardMobili adds beacons to mobile wallet
CardMobili has added support for Bluetooth beacon-based marketing services to its digital wallet platform... More
Spain pilots contactless ID cards
The Government of Spain is piloting a contactless ID card in Lleida that can be read using an NFC device... More
Shazam adds support for Bluetooth beacons
Music recognition app Shazam has partnered with Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) specialist Gimbal to add support for Bluetooth beacons to its platform... More
FitLinxx unveils 24/7 wearable fitness device
FitLinxx has begun taking pre-orders for AmpStrip, a 24/7 wearable device that sends a range of health and fitness data direct to a user’s smartphone using Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE)... More
HyprKey unveils biometric mobile wallet add-on
A US startup is taking pre-orders for a biometrically secured mobile wallet, consisting of a payment app and Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE)-based “bio-sticker” attached to the back of the user’s phone... More
Kontakt.io puts on $1m beacon hunt at CES
Beacon solution provider Kontakt.io is hosting a Bluetooth-based treasure hunt with a million dollar prize at the CES in Las Vegas... More