Biometric Smartphones Expected To Be Mainstream In 2014

Swedish network provider Ericsson says smartphones featuring biometric technology for secure access will become mainstream in 2014. Apple has begun the trend with the September release of the iPhone 5s, which included a fingerprint reader intended to increase security and improve usability.A poll by Ericsson Consumer Lab of 100,000 people in more than 40 countries, found 74 percent of respondents saying they believe biometric smartphones “will become mainstream” during 2014. Over half said they would prefer to use their fingerprints rather than a complex alphanumeric combination of letters, numbers, and characters, while almost half said they would be interested in eye-recognition technology to unlock their phones, an Ericsson release said Wednesday. More smart phone makers are expected to offer one or another form of biometric security embedded in their devices to unlock them and secure their data, Ericsson said.