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.

LG's curved display smartphoneconfirmed for November launch

LG Electronics Inc's display unit said on Monday it will start mass production of curved smartphone displays as the South Korean phone maker plans to launch a smartphone with the new screens next month to catch bigger rival Samsung Electronics Co Ltd. 

Samsung said last month it would introduce a smartphone with a curved display in October as the world's top handset maker seeks to set the pace of hardware innovation amid slowing growth in the high-end smartphone market. 

Curved displays are in the early stages of development and allow bendable or foldable designs that could eventually allow mobile and wearable gadgets to take new forms that could radically change the high-end smartphone market.

LG Display Co Ltd said on Monday it has started production of a six-inch display curved top to bottom. LG Electronics plans to launch a smartphone with the curved display in November, a source familiar with the matter said. By contrast, Samsung's phone will have a display curved side to side, another source who has direct knowledge of the matter said. In January Samsung, which has taken over from Apple Inc as the global smartphone leader, showed off prototype products with a flexible screen and a display that extends from the side of a device. 

Technology firms have yet to figure out how to mass produce the parts cheaply and come up with display panels that can be thin and heat resistant. 

Curved displays are already commercially available in large-screen televisions. 
Samsung and LG Electronics started selling curved OLED TV sets this year priced at about $9,000.

iOS 7 experience on Android via iLauncher

Not all Android users give a hoot about
iOS 7, but we know there are a few of
you out there that may be a little
intrigued about Apple’s new operating
system. We have come across an
Android app called ‘iLauncher’, which
gives you the iOS 7 experience on your
Android.
This app is fairly decent, there is one
feature within iLauncher iOS 7 users
would love Apple to add to its next
update, a few iOS 7 users experienced
motion sickness when using the new
operating system, but this Android app
allows users to disable the zooming
function that makes iPhone users a
little sick.
iLauncher provides a similar experience
as iOS 7, same design with a few added
extras. Once you have installed this app
your entire Home screen will look like
Apple’s UI.
Main iLauncher Android app features
include smooth scrolling, the ability to
uninstall apps from the Home screen,
you can edit exit mode by pressing the
back button, support 5 rows mode just
like the iPhone 5, 5S and 5C. The apps
have rounded corners and gloss
effects; it also includes a dock bar
and so much more. The app does cost
just a little over $2, for more
information about iLauncher, please
visit the Google Play Store .
If you do decide to install the app you
must be aware that you may lose the
ability to add widgets to the Android
Home screen, shortcuts can be added
still.
Not sure why Android users would want
to add iOS 7 to their devices, but hey
we are sure someone would like to give
it a go. If you do decide to install
iLauncher please give another app some
thought, this Android app is called
‘Espier Launcher iOS7 ’ and unlike
iLauncher this one is free.
Would you like iOS 7 on your Android
device?

Android's smartphone marketshare rises to nearly 80 percent: IDC

Smartphones powered by Google's
Android software increased their global
market share as iPhones lost ground in
the absence of new models being
unleashed by Apple, the International
Data Corporation reported Wednesday.
Android's share of the smartphone
market grew to 79.3 percent in the
second quarter while that of iPhone
slipped to 13.2 percent from 16.6
percent in the same three-month
period last year, according to IDC
figures.

"The iOS decline in the second quarter
aligns with the cyclicality of iPhone,"
said IDC mobile phone research team
manager Ramon Llamas, referring to
the software platform on which the
Apple handsets are built.
"Without a new product launch since
the debut of the iPhone 5 nearly a
year ago, Apple's market share was
vulnerable to product launches from
the competition."
Apple is "well positioned" to recapture
market share with the release later
this year of a new iPhone and the
next-generation iOS mobile operating
system, according to Llamas.
IDC reported that 187 million Android-
powered smartphones were shipped in
the second quarter of the year as
compared to 31.2 million iPhones.
Smartphones powered by Microsoft
Windows software showed the biggest
jump, hitting 3.7-percent of the
market in a 77.6 percent rise that
"re-enforced" the mobile platform's
third-place position, according to IDC.

The gain was driven by Nokia, which
released hot new Windows smartphones
and accounted for just shy of 82
percent of the 8.7 million Windows
phones shipped worldwide during the
quarter.
"Last quarter we witnessed Windows
Phone shipments surpassing BlackBerry
and the trend has continued into the
second quarter," said IDC mobility
tracker program manager Ryan Reith.
"Nokia has clearly been the driving
force behind the Windows Phone
platform, and we expect that to
continue."
Ailing Blackberry saw its share of the
global smartphone market shrink to 2.9
percent from 4.9 percent in the second
quarter last year, IDC reported.
A total of 236.4 million smartphones
were shipped during the quarter in a
51.3 percent rise from the 156.2 million
shipped in the same period a year
earlier, according to IDC.
Android retained its crown as the top
smartphone platform in the United
States in the quarter with 59 percent
of the market, the same as the prior
quarter, a report released Tuesday by
comScore indicated.
California-based Apple remained the
most popular smartphone maker in US
and its share of that market was up
slightly to 39.9 percent from the first
three months of this year, according
to comScore.