Further announcements from the first wave of Mobile World Congress we liked:
- Fujitsu unveiled a smartphone prototype with an inbuilt iris scanner, which can authenticate users in less than a second (even if you wear glasses or lenses). Using its miniaturised infrared LED light and camera, the device registers (by looking into a pair of animated circles) and stores your unique iris pattern. Another sign that mobile security is being taken more seriously these days.
- Qualcomm continued the ID scanner theme, but remains within the tried-and-tested realms of the fingertip – the impressive news is that the biometric sensor uses ultrasonics and so can sense your fingerprint through a display. Using the new Snapdragon Sense ID 3D Fingerprint Technology, ridges and other distinguishing features of the fingerprint can be mapped, leading to greater accuracy (it can see through sweat, grease and hand lotion)– and implementation – in the future.
- Intel has announced anti-virus for smartwatches, which will be bundled with LG’s new Watch Urbane LTE.
- Blackphone unveiled its second phone and a tablet, once again in collaboration with encryption specialist Silent Circle. The devices have been dubbed the world’s most secure devices. Co-founder of Blackphone Jon Callas explained, “there is no bloatware, no hooks to carriers, and no leaky data… It puts privacy in the hands of you and your [business], without any sacrifices.”
- A final security warning for those already sensing the theme that you need to be more careful these days: advances in technology, such as with wearables, means cars have now become eminently more hackable – 16 keyless thefts happen in London every day. Connected dashboards prove the greatest risk, as they are essentially onboard computer networks “sharing valuable information”.