The week started off with another rumor out of Korea concerning Samsung’s answer to Apple’s iPhones 5S, specifically regarding the better-than-PIN security that will typify this next generation smartphones. Initially rumored to be the first smartphone featuring a built-in iris scanner, the Korea Herald has cited anonymous sources that the Samsung Galaxy S5, set for release in Spring 2014, will in fact be sporting a fingerprint sensor (possibly built into the display).
Of course, for those who have been disillusioned by the iPhone 5S’s Touch ID and were hoping that a biometric other than finger measurements would be protecting their next mobile device need not compromise. A number of SDKs are becoming available to use your eyes or voice to lock your current generation phone. AGNITiO’s KIVOX mobile software is one of these solutions, recently signed out by Envisioneering with an Innovation & Design Award,” given to outstanding innovations launched at ShowStoppers during CES.
KIVOX can be set up in a few easy steps (easy being the operative word when it comes to consumer adoption) and allows for more than just account access through it’s Voice iD powered voiceprint recognition. Once KIVOX learns a user’s voice, it can be used to log in to email, bypass the lock screen and authorize financial transactions. This functionality was being predicted by industry experts last summer, and its finally ready to fulfill the post-password prophecy of biometric mCommerce via software.
Of course, this being the year that biometrics have become real, a great number of mCommerce solutions are on their way to consumer end users. This includes digital wallets, which are all ready to hit the market before this year ends in an attempt to offer real life payment method alternatives. One major presence in the wallet war is NXT-ID, who announced this week that it has conscripted business students to aid in the market research and initial product testing of the company’s upcoming offering: the Wocket.
The coming year is expected to hold a great number of opportunities in authentication and identity management. As part of its Year in Review 2013, findBIOMETRICS asked a panel of experts to identify and rank the most exciting opportunities facing post-password companies, organizations and consortia. Be sure to read up on what they said and stay posted as our sister site enters it’s final week exploring the big trends of 2013.
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