Last week Mobile ID World was in Barcelona for Mobile World Congress 2017, reporting on digital identity and biometrics form the ground floor of the year’s biggest mobility industry conference and exhibition. Major 5G, IoT, and fingerprint biometrics news came out of MWC along with ID-ready mobile devices, as we brought you our usual brand of industry news coverage from around the globe.
Here is a look back on last week’s top news stories from Barcelona and beyond:
Live From MWC 2017 in Barcelona
Biometrics, authentication, and identity technology were bigger than ever at this year’s Mobile World Congress. The hosting organization, GSMA, used the conference as a platform to lay a foundational vision for the next generation of connectivity, and in an interview with Mobile ID World, GSMA’s David Pollington gave insight into why authentication is such a key part of the 5G network evolution. The following links will bring you to the audio of that full interview and also give you a breakdown of the conference, complete with pictures from the exhibition floor.
Mobile ID World at MWC, Day 1: 5G Visions and Fingerprint Sensor Innovation
Mobile ID World at MWC, Day 2: The Exhibition Gallery
GALLERY – Mobile ID World at MWC 2017: Identity is Integral to Connectivity
MWC 2017 Audio Interview: David Pollington, Head of Applications & Services, GSMA
GLOMO Awards
A prominent part of Mobile World Congress is its Global Mobile (GLOMO) Awards. For the second year in a row our own managing editor Peter Counter was one of the judges for what Samsung SDS calls “the Oscars of IT.” Samsung, of course was among the winners at this years’ GLOMO awards. Take a look at our coverage below:
Glomo Awards Reflect Importance of Mobile Tech Across Range of Sectors
Samsung SDS Celebrates Win in ‘Oscars of IT’
Fingerprint Innovation
MWC served as a stage for some big innovations in fingerprint biometrics. Fingerprint Cards announced FPC SenseTouch, a solution that brings pressure sensitivity to the company’s offerings, while Goodix launched the world’s first in-display fingerprint sensor. Egis Tech, meanwhile launched its own under-glass sensor, and outside of the conference we reported on yet another patent granted to Apple describing next generation touchscreen fingerprint biometrics tech.
In-Display Touch ID Could Work Across the Whole Screen
MWC 2017: New Functionality Lets FPC Sensors Detect Pressure
Goodix Announces World’s First In-Display Fingerprint Sensor
Egis Tech Kicks Off MWC With Under-Glass Sensor Launch
Fingerprint Smartphones
MWC also served as a launchpad for a huge number of mobile devices, most of which nowadays tend to include fingerprint biometrics as a standard feature. Huawei started the week off by launching a smartphone featuring an under-glass sensor. BlackBerry launched a handset too, sporting the first ever in-keyboard fingerprint sensor deployment courtesy of FPC. Check out last week’s mobile fingerprint news for more details:
MWC 2017: FPC Unveils Keyboard-Based Fingerprint Sensor With BlackBerry
Precise Biometrics Software Used In Two New Xiaomi Devices
MWC 2017: Huawei Continues Under-Glass Sensor Momentum with New Device
Smart Cards
Staying true to the many fingerprint trends of 2016 that have continued into this year, MWC had its share of biometric smart cards on display, including Oberthur’s F-Code, which replaces PINs with fingerprint authentication. Last week we also reported on a new partnership between IDEX and Card Tech, which will help the former achieve its stated goals in the smart card market.
MWC 2017: Biometric Security Featured Among OT’s New Payment Card Solutions
IDEX to Work with Card Tech on Biometric Smart Card Project
Windows Hello
Microsoft’s Windows Hello biometric authentication platform was powering the security of some high profile notebooks and 2-in-1 devices launched last week. Samsung, Porsche Design and Lenovo all launched products protected by Windows Hello in Barcelona last week:
MWC 2017: Lenovo, Porsche Design Devices Leverage Windows Hello Biometric Security
MWC 2017: Samsung Leverages Windows Hello Biometrics
Contactless Biometrics
It wasn’t all just fingerprints last week. At MWC we had face and iris biometrics news from Qualcomm and EyeLock. Meanwhile, we reported on new LED technology made to optimize those same contactless modalities on handsets, and Sensory’s handsfree voice command technology made headlines in the areas of device wake-up and AI interfacing.
MWC 2017: New Snapdragon Chip Supports Facial, Iris Recognition
Osram Opto Semiconductors’ New LEDs Facilitate Mobile Iris and Face Biometrics
New Voice Activation SiP Leverages Tech from Sensory, STMicroelectronics, DSP Group
Sensory, Rubidium Bring Alexa Wakeup to Qualcomm SoCs
The Next Step in Connectivity
As stated above, 5G connectivity was a major topic last week at MWC. The following news stories will provide you with insight into how the conversation has evolved regarding smart cities, connected cars, and bringing wireless services to the under served in frontier markets.
Post-MWC, Gemalto Highlights Rise of Smart City Tech
Ericsson Launches New Singaporean and Tanzanian Connectivity Projects
European Automotive Telecom Alliance Lays Out Smart Car Roadmap
Financial ID
This year mobile commerce may not have benefited from the massive presence it enjoyed at the previous MWC 2016, but it did make headlines. Mastercard partnered with Oracle with an aim to expand digital payments in the realms of retail and hospitality, and GSMA published a report on the state of the mobile money industry. Outside the conference, we saw Samsung Pay India launch in early access, while South African satellite TV subscribers were given the option to pay bills via Masterpass and more.
Masterpass Becomes Payment Option for South African TV Subscribers
Samsung Pay Nearly Ready for India with ‘Early Access’ Program
MWC 2017: Mastercard Teams With Oracle to Expand Digital Payments Presence in Hospitality, Retail
MWC 2017: New GSMA Report Charts Continued Ascent of Mobile Money
Social Media Study Finds Buzz Around mPayments, Biometrics
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Stay posted to Mobile ID World as we continue to unpack last week’s’ events throughout the month of March. Be sure to follow us on Twitter so you don’t miss a beat.
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