Ultrasonic Fingerprint Sensor For Smartphone Security

Fingerprint sensors are a nifty way to unlock smartphones. Unfortunately, they can also be tricked with a forged print, as was shown with the iPhone 5s and iPhone 6. But a new technology developed in California could change that.

A team led by David Horsley, professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at the University of California, Davis, has developed a new ultra-safe, ultrasonic sensor.
"Our ultrasonic fingerprint sensors have the ability to measure a three-dimensional, volumetric image of the finger surface and the tissues beneath the surface – making fingerprint sensors more robust and secure," says Horsley. 

The sensor uses similar technology to medical ultrasound imagers. Transducers on the tiny sensor’s surface send out ultrasound pulses, which bounce off the fingerprint’s ridges and valleys before returning to the transducers. Using ultrasound means that the sensor can penetrate a thin layer of tissue near the finger’s surface, making the technology much more difficult to trick.

The chip itself is made from two wafers bonded together: a ‘complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor’ (CMOS) wafer and a microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) wafer. The CMOS wafer contains the circuitry for processing the signals, while the MEMS wafer contains the transducers.

Besides the security advantages, the researchers say that these chips will be extremely cheap to make.

“We were able to use low-cost, high-volume manufacturing processes that produce hundreds of millions of MEMS sensors for consumer electronics each year,” says Horsley.

So look out for these sensors on a smartphone near you…

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Xiaomi Mi 5 to Come with 4GB RAM

Xiaomi, the Chinese handset maker, will incorporate a 4 GB RAM in its next release - the Mi5, sources said on Saturday.

Website Mobipicker quoted sources saying that the latest handset release by the Chinese firm is codenamed Libra, adding the device would come with 4 GB of RAM and the Snapdragon 820 chipset.

The phone will come with either 16 or a 64 GB internal storage, a 5.3 inch display with a resolution of 1440 x 2560 pixels and a 3,030 mAh battery.

According to the site, the Mi5 will carry a 16-megapixel flip side camera and a 6-megapixel front snapper for selfie lovers. The handset will run Android 5.1.1 out of the box and will come with fingerprint scanner.
The exact date of release is not known but may be release November 2015.

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Paypal Mobile Credit Card Reader/Swiper for iPhone and Android Devices

PayPal Here is the easiest way to accept any form of payment. Wherever your business goes, your sales can go too.You can use iOS (iPhone 3GS and later) devices running iOS version 6.0 and later and iPad devices running iOS version 6.0 and later, select Android smartphones and tablets, and select Windows 8.1 tablets.

An Android device running PayPal Here will need to have: 

• Android version 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) or later 
• 3.5 mm headset jack with microphone 
• Support for Location Services 
• Internet access (via WiFi or cellular data network)

PayPal Here is supported on many Android tablets. See the list below for some of the compatible devices.

• Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro 
• Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 
• Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 10" 
• Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7" 
• Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 10" 
• Samsung Nexus 10" 
• Samsung Galaxy Note 10"

PayPal Here is supported on many tablets that run Windows 8.1. See the list below for some of the compatible devices. 

• Surface Pro 3, 2, and RT 
• HP Elitepad 1000 
• Asus Vivo Tab Note 8 
• Dell Venue Pro 8

No worries if your tablet isn't shown; a quick app download and reader test will indicate whether PayPal Here works with your tablet. We recommend doing this prior to purchasing a new device just to be sure it is compatible.

Buy Now Paypal Mobile Credit Card Reader/Swiper

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Sony Xperia M4 Aqua

Sony has formally unveiled the Xperia M4 Aqua (E2303, E2306, E2353) and Xperia M4 Dual (E2312, E2333, E2363)The 4G LTE phone is the same that has been leaked in recent days arriving with a 5-inch (720 x 1280) IPS display (PPI of 294 and screen-to-phone ratio of 65.24%), a 64-bit Snapdragon 615 chipset with Octa core processor (1.5 GHz quad-core Cortex-A53 and 1.0 GHz quad-core Cortex-A53) and Adreno 405 graphics.

The Xperia M4 Aqua will launch in two variants when it comes to internal storage. Model numbers E2303, E2353, E2312 will have 8GB storage, whilst the E2306, E2333, E2363 variants will have 16GB of internal storage. All models will have 2GB RAM.Sony Xperia M4 Aqua will come with the similar “Aqua” moniker as well as the IP68 certification for water and dust resistance as its predecessor.

Other features include a 13MP Exmor RS rear camera with F2.0 aperture and ISO 3200 sensitivity, 5MP front-facing camera with 88° field of view, Bluetooth 4.1, NFC and a 2400mAh battery for a two-day battery life. The Xperia M4 Aqua has dimensions of 145.5 x 72.6 x 7.3 mm and will weigh 140 grams.

The Xperia M4 Aqua will launch in three colours (Black, White and a new Coral colour). Sony says the handset will hit 80 countries and 100 partners worldwide when it is released in Spring 2015 for around EUR 299. It will launch with Android 5.0 Lollipop from the outset and will be part of the Xperia Lounge Silver programme.

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HTC One M9 Price, Release Date, Specs and Features

HTC at Mobile World Congress 2015 in Barcelona, Spain, announced the all-new HTC One M9. While it might look a good bit like its predecessor (why mess with a good thing, right?) there's still a lot going on here.

The phone is slightly smaller and easier to hold. The rear Ultra Pixel camera has been swapped out for a more traditional 20MP shooter. Sense 7 gives you so many new ways to share and edit photos, and it's easier to do now as well.
Boom Sound is back, of course, and this time Dolby is on board to help with the audio lifting.
So we'd love for the HTC One M9 to have more juice. We don't think two days of battery life should be unrealistic, after all the HTC One M8 and a number of other phones can already comfortably make it into a second day, they just need a bit of a boost to make it to the end of the day.

 HTC One M9 specs

SYSTEM	Android 5.0.2 Lollipop + HTC Sense 7
DISPLAY	5-inch LCD, 1,920 x 1,080 Pixel, 441 ppi
PROCESSOR	Qualcomm Snapdragon 810, Octa-Core, 4 x 2.0 GHz + 4 x 1.5 GHz
RAM	3 GB
INTERNAL STORAGE	32 GB + microSD
BATTERY	2,840 mAh
CAMERA	20 MP (rear), HTC UltraPixel (front)
CONNECTIVITY	USB 2.0, WLAN (IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac 2.4 & 5 GHz), LTE CAT6, Bluetooth 4.1, NFC, CIR, HDMI MHL 3.0
DIMENSIONS	144.6 x 69.7 x 9.61 mm
WEIGHT	157 grams

Water and dust resistance: Another way to keep it protected is with dust and water resistance. We don't need to be able to take it swimming, but knowing that it could survive a spill or a bit of rain would certainly be reassuring and now that Samsung and Sony are both water and dust proofing their phones there's little excuse for HTC not to do the same.

More of a health and fitness focus: The world is going health and fitness mad, or at least that's what many of the latest smartphones and smart watches would lead you to believe. HTC though doesn't seem so interested and we can't help but feel that it's missing a trick, especially if the market for fitness focused tech continues to grow. Sure a heart rate monitor and UV sensor are hardly essential components of a smartphone, but we wouldn't say no to them and we'd also be quite happy to see more of a focus on fitness software from HTC, rather than it relying on third party solutions, as HTC has done with the M8 by simply including the Fitbit app. Apple has Health, Samsung has S Health, HTC needs something.

Lots of power: It's reached the point where almost every high end phone and a fair few lower end ones feel fast and powerful, so we don't really need a lot more power in the HTC One M9. But specs sell and while HTC's flagships are always powerful they're not always quite as powerful as the competition, at least on paper. So next year we hope that changes. Impress us HTC, put in an octa-core Snapdragon 810 with 6GB of RAM, or at least make sure your phone is a match for the Samsung Galaxy S6 and Sony Xperia Z4.

More storage: HTC wisely added a microSD card slot to the M8, but we'd still love more internal storage. Apple now offers 128GB iPhones, so why can't an Android phone do the same? And more specifically why can't HTC? Do that while still including microSD support and we could be looking at a phone with 256GB of combined storage, which is far more than most people are ever likely to need, but we'd rather have too much than too little.

Category 6 LTE: 4G is taking off in a big way, but while current phones are equipped to support the fastest speeds we're likely to get in most places right now, they're not particularly future-proofed. That's why we'd like to see HTC put Category 6 LTE support in the HTC One M9.That would theoretically allow it to reach download speeds of around 300Mbps, which is double what most current handsets can manage and should make it a viable handset right up until 5G arrive

HTC One M9 price: The HTC One M9 price will be set at 749 Euros carrier unlocked, but we are yet to receive UK or US pricing details. The latest rumors suggest a 649 USD price tag, but we will update this page as soon as we know more. While every network will get the One M9 in Gold/Silver and Gun Metal colors, EE will initially be the only network to also have the One M9 in gold. The One M9 will be released in Europe around March 31. At launch, it will be available in two colors: gunmetal gray and silver with a gold frame at the back. Eventually, the all-gold edition is also expected to become widely available. 

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Samsung Galaxy S6 & Galaxy S6 Edge Price, Release Date, Specs and Features

Samsung has finally pulled the wraps off its highly anticipated Galaxy S6. As the rumours suggested, we have two new models – Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge. With the new models, Samsung has taken a quantum leap in design and given their phones a complete makeover. This isn't just plastic now; it’s metal and glass and it looks good.

Successor to the S5, the Galaxy S6 doesn't feature a curved display, but Samsung has spruced up user experience with some nifty upgrades. If you've missed on your dose of the Unpacked event at the MWC, then here’s a quick look at what you need to know about the new Samsung flagship.

Its twin, slim replacements, the Samsung Galaxy S6 and curved-screen Galaxy S6 Edge, finally ditch the utilitarian plastic build and removable battery of previous Samsung flagship phones. They arrive at the smartphone party dressed in sharp metal lines and plenty of glass. The two new phones are nearly identical -- both run Android 5.0 Lollipop with 5.1-inch high-resolution displays. But the Galaxy S6 Edge competes for the spotlight with two curved-glass edges, each wrapping the long side of the phone with a smooth, readable display.

Galaxy S6 Specs

SYSTEM	Android 5.0 Lollipop
DISPLAY	5.1-inch Quad HD (2560x1440) 577ppi, Super AMOLED
PROCESSOR	Quad 2.1GHz + Quad 1.5Ghz, Octa-core processor
RAM	3 GB
INTERNAL STORAGE	32/64/128 GB
BATTERY	2,550 mAh + wireless charging + wired supercharging
CAMERA	16 MP with OIS (rear), 5 MP (front)
CONNECTIVITY	Wi-Fi: 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (2.4/5GHz), HT80 MIMO(2x2)  620Mbps, Dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, Mobile hotspot,  Bluetooth 4.1, NFC, LTE Cat.6
DIMENSIONS	143.4 x 70.5 x 6.8 mm
WEIGHT	138 g

                                   

Galaxy S6 Edge Specs

SYSTEM	Android 5.0 Lollipop
DISPLAY	5.1-inch Quad HD (2560x1440) 577ppi, Super AMOLED, Dual Edge
PROCESSOR	Quad 2.1GHz + Quad 1.5Ghz, Octa-core processor
RAM	3 GB
INTERNAL STORAGE	32/64/128 GB
BATTERY	2,600 mAh + wireless charging + wired supercharging
CAMERA	16 MP with OIS (rear), 5 MP (front)
CONNECTIVITY	Wi-Fi: 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (2.4/5GHz), HT80 MIMO(2x2) 620Mbps, Dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, Mobile hotspot, Bluetooth 4.1, NFC, LTE Cat.6
DIMENSIONS	142.1 x 70.1 x 7.0 mm
WEIGHT	132 g

No microSD card: Samsung omitted this staple feature to maximize slimness. However it's also increased default internal storage to 32GB, with 64GB and 128GB models also available. Samsung will also throw in 115GB free Microsoft OneDrive storage for two years, stating that people increasingly use cloud storage these days.

Camera quick launch: This is a great one. Double click the home button to launch the camera app in just under a second, and from any screen. This worked flawlessly during my demo period.

Smarter fingerprint scanning: The same home button is now equipped to read your fingerprint when you rest it on the button. Before, you had to slide it, which often didn't produce an accurate reading. I wasn't able to test this yet.

Wireless charging: The S6 and S6 Edge have wireless charging built in, using WPC and PMA standards (that includes Qi). Samsung will sell its own charging pads, but the S6 phones will be compatible with some other chargers as well. You should be able to top up 20 percent of your battery in about a half hour.

Quick-charging: Support for this fast-charging feature comes with the Exynos chip, which Samsung says should give you a 30 percent charge in about 30 minutes. In addition, the phones will work with a Qualcomm Quick Charge 2.0 charger (like the Note 4's charger).

No waterproofing: Unlike the Galaxy S5, neither S6 is rated IP67 for water resistance. Samsung's response: waterproofing isn't part of the S6 "story." It's a good guess that we'll get a waterproof "Galaxy S6 Active" or some other tough variant later this year, like the Galaxy S5 Active and S5 Sport.

Pricing and availability: Look for the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge to hit some territories starting April 10. Pricing is still up in the air, but carriers and retailers like to set those individually. Expect the S6 to cost about the same as the S5, and for the S6 Edge to cost more. Samsung's US PR team shared that it'll sell with major US carriers (AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon) as well as Cricket and US Cellular. UK networks are yet to be announced and the only Australian network to confirm availability is Virgin Mobile.

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