Fingerprint recognition promised for Android devices, due in six months

While fingerprint scanners had not hit
mainstream devices at a major level till
Apple decided to include it with the
latest-generation iPhone, the iPhone 5s
calling it Touch ID, it looks like the
Android device bandwagon will also get
its own version of the technology in six
months, if a new report is to be
believed.

The FIDO (Fast IDentity Online)
Alliance a group of 48 technology
companies, which was founded by the
likes of Lenovo and PayPal is working
on a new technical standard for
biometric fingerprint scanners to be
featured on Android smartphones.
In an interview with USA Today,
Michael Barrett, president of the FIDO
Alliance has said that the initial FIDO-
equipped Android devices, will roll out in
early 2014 along with services that use
the FIDO protocols.

"The intention of FIDO is absolutely
that it will allow consumers to have
access to mobile services that they can
use with very low friction, while keeping
good security," said Barrett.
It's not clear as to which device
makers and services would choose to
include FIDO but prominent members of
the alliance include LG, BlackBerry,
Google, Lenovo and PayPal. So it's
likely that these players choose to
integrate the standard with their
devices and services.

It's worth pointing out that Apple's
Touch ID fingerprint sensor is not
FIDO-compliant but Barrett informed
that Touch ID could easily be adapted
to FIDO but it will take a couple of
years.
According to its website, the FIDO
Alliance aims to develop specifications
that define an open, scalable,
interoperable set of mechanisms that
supplant reliance on passwords to
securely authenticate users of online
services. It essentially wants to build a
ubiquitous biometric standard that
works across different devices and
online services that require
authentication.
It's worth mentioning that Apple's
Touch ID allows users to unlock the
phone, by simply placing a finger on
the Home button. It can also be used
to confirm purchases made on the App
Store, iBookstore or the iTunes Store.

Samsung Ativ Q tablet cum laptop hybrid launched with Android and Windows 8 dual-boot support

Samsung has launched a dual OS
hybrid tablet cum laptop called Ativ Q.
Samsung Ativ Q is a 13.3-inch device
that has a thickness of 13.9 mm and
weighs 1.29 kgs. It also comes with a
qHD+ display that has a resolution of
1800x3200 pixels. The hybrid is
powered by an Intel Core i5 processor.
The device comes with a 4GB RAM
and 128GB SSD storage. It also has a
720p HD camera on-board. In terms of
ports, the Ativ Q comes with one USB
3.0, one USB 2.0, an HDMI port, a
headphone/ microphone combination
jack and a microSD card slot.
The device comes with both Windows
8 and Android Jelly Bean 4.2.2
operating systems onboard, giving
users the option to choose which OS to
boot into. It also gives you the ability
to pin an Android application to the
Windows 8 start screen, providing
some kind of integration between the
two operating systems.
In terms of the physical build of the
tablet, the slider format with the
keyboard makes it similar to Sony's
Vaio Duo 13. There is no touch pad on
the keyboard but left and right mouse
keys do exist. The mouse is present in
the form of a track pad in the centre of
the keyboard, similar to how it is
placed on the Vaio Duo 13.
The tablet offers S-Pen functionality
allowing you to create content using
the stylus on the tablet. Samsung has
also incorporated Smart Sync
functionality into the tablet enabling
users to control their smartphones
using the Ativ PC. So, your Android
smartphone can be somewhere in your
bag, while you reply to a text using
your computer.
The hinge design of the ATIV Q gives
four physical modes to the tablet. One
can lay the display flat over the
keyboard for tablet mode; raise the
display upright to type through the
keyboard similar to how you use a
laptop; float and adjust the display to
a desired viewing angle; or flip the
display to place it on a stand mode.
Samsung has not revealed anything
about the pricing or the availability of
the PC-tablet hybrid as of now.