BIO-key
is showing off its latest device, a small, touch-based USB fingerprint reader, at the connect:ID convention this week. The device uses new fingerprint sensor technology from NEXT Biometrics.
Using NEXT’s Active Thermal sensor, BIO-key’s EcoID fingerprint reader is being offered as a low-cost, high-performance system compatible with Android and Windows devices. The device is portable, and small enough to fit in a user’s pocket or to hang from a lanyard. Importantly, it adheres to Microsoft Windows Biometric Framework (WBF) and FIDO security standards.
Also important is the price point: With an MSRP of $34.99, BIO-key hopes that the EcoID will prove to be a market disruptor.
Much of the credit for the low price of the device can presumably go to NEXT Biometrics. Since purchasing equipment that would dramatically improve its production capacity, the company has been working to explore the lower-cost end of the fingerprint scanner market. BIO-key, meanwhile, has been establishing a strong market presence over the last year, greatly improving its revenues and ensuring that its upcoming offerings are getting as much visibility as possible. With the low-cost EcoID, the companies may indeed prove to be major market disruptors, while at the same time opening up new market possibilities for the industry.
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