Motorola releases fingerprint sensor-embedded Android phone (2011)

http://secureidnews.com/news-item/motorola-releases-fingerprint-sensor-embedded-android-phone/

by yapcguy • 13 years ago

66 38 13 years ago

rabino2• 13 years ago

How many units did it sell?

tmuir2• 13 years ago

You seem to imply that a fingerprint scanner is the main selling point of the Iphone 5S, and that Apple's superior execution of the fingerprint scanner, and not its app store, marketing prowess, or the fact that there are almost two orders of magnitude more models of android phones than Iphones, will be the primary reason the Iphone 5S outsells the Atrix.

This time next year we'll be watching an Apple commercial that states "More people unlocked their phone with their fingerprint on the Iphone than on any other phone".

rabino2• 13 years ago

Dude, are you the long lost cousin of Sherlock Holmes? I just asked how popular it was.

ActVen• 13 years ago

Execution is important.

Atrix: Turn the phone over. Slide your finger vertically across the reader. Turn your phone back over and commence use of phone.

Apple: Place your finger on the most used button on the phone, any direction you would like.

Edit: Fair point that you don't have to turn the phone over. I think it is still quite a jump forward in usability to incorporate it up front, embedded into a button that people constantly use on the device, and usable in any position.

electic• 13 years ago

Exactly. More Features != Better Product.

xyzzyz• 13 years ago

You obviously don't need to turn the phone over to slide your finger across the reader. In fact, the reader is positioned on the wake-up button you need to press anyway. The location is convenient, and using the fingerprint sensor in Atrix is quite pleasant.

Source: I own Motorola Atrix phone. I used to be happy with it, but then the GPS broke, and camera became flaky, not to mention lack of Android updates.

fournm• 13 years ago

As another Atrix owner, backing this up entirely. It's in a position where you basically hit power and then slide your finger down along it.

Edit: As a side note, the lack of it on other Android phones is really making it hard for me to want to switch.

suprgeek• 13 years ago

Another Plus vote for the Atrix FP Sensor. I have used this and it was intuitive.

blinkingled• 13 years ago

Agreed. It was actually an OK phone for its time and the FP sensor worked as advertised - wake up and slide wasn't such an inconvenient way to unlock. (The Atrix FP sensor was also made by Authentec btw.)

It sucked that Motorola dumped it soon after 2.3.6 update esp since the hardware was more than capable of running even 4.1.

clarkm• 13 years ago

I owned the Atrix and I think the fingerprint scanner was perfectly placed. All you had to do is hold the phone normally and swipe your index finger across the back -- much more convenient the than the iPhone thumb press, in my opinion.

Am I the only one he gets thumb cramps from having to move my thumb all over?

aes• 13 years ago

And ThinkPads used to have a fingerprint sensor, many years ago. It's not that the technology itself is very cutting edge, or even claimed to be. (Of course, marketing claims anything to be cutting-edge. Apple's marketing doubly so.)

In the light of recent knowledge, it makes me wonder whether IBM had NSA backdoors, too.

footpath• 13 years ago

Select ThinkPad models still do have integrated fingerprint sensors. Windows 8.1 offers improved native biometrics as well, whereas the previous Windows versions require third-party drivers for compatibility.

r00fus• 13 years ago

Execution matters.

My previous work computer was a Thinkpad (2011 model) with a fingerprint swipe-scanner, but it was flaky, wasn't baked into the OS, and didn't have any killer apps that supported it.

If, for example, Lenovo released something like 1Password but tied into the FP scanner for auth, that would've been really good… but that would require work to ensure it was secure and that particular sensor's flakiness would've killed the execution anyway.

I'm guessing it was there for military/secured installations where some bespoke software would interface with the scanner for a customer-specific purpose.

learningram• 13 years ago

I have an Atrix and a Finger print sensor for my Thinkpad...

rbanffy4• 13 years ago

Just imagine how a security vulnerability can be used to grab fingerprints of every iPhone user...

It's cool. Is it cool enough to risk having your fingerprints copied?

Splendor• 13 years ago

If someone wants your fingerprints they already have them.

tlrobinson• 13 years ago

Therefore it's a good idea to use your fingerprints for authentication?

beedogs• 13 years ago

What else does this magical sentence work for? I want a million dollars.

rbanffy4• 13 years ago

Governments do, but ordinary criminals don't. Yet.

This is a very important enabling technology not because it's new, but because it'll gain widespread use in a short time.

qq662• 13 years ago

Sure, if someone wants your credit card number, they already have it too. They just follow you around with a telephoto lens and take a photo when you remove your credit card to use it.

But if someone just wants a few thousand credit card numbers, and not yours specifically, that's when an ounce of caution can go a long way towards protecting yourself.

vermontdevil• 13 years ago

I had one and it absoutely sucked. Never worked since the day I bought it. Didn't bother to return it since I liked the phone itself.

gfodor2• 13 years ago

Assuming this post is meant as a snarky "see, look, Apple didn't invent fingerprint reading phones" (not saying it definitely is) we must once again be reminded of Jobs' Law: hardware alone does not a product make.

forgottenpass• 13 years ago

You're totally right of course. Apple has a tight product line and dedicated fanbase. The feature will hit critical mass and be a huge success within months.

Over the next few weeks, everyone emotionally invested in the cellphone for any of the terrible reasons that make it a "must have" will go through a process with the new iPhone that is almost exclusively afforded to Apple products. If the consumer doesn't like a feature, they'll wonder if instead of the tech being wrong, if it is really them that is wrong about the tech. "C'mon," they'll think "this is APPLE after all, I just must not get it." The people who wait longer to buy will have both that thought _and_ the fear of having an outsider opinion on the trendy new toy.

My best indication that this is true isn't related to the conversations I had with other iPhone owners after I switched. Those odd little ones that I mistook for chit-chat about the phone but after 2 or 3 eventually realized we were rationalizing back and forth that our less-than-prudent purchase decision was the right one. Nor was it the time that I had my jaw dropped after realizing how stupid I was for failing to realize how much the iPhone is a status symbol. I deluded myself into thinking it had anything to do with tech, but right after the release of the 4S I heard a criticism of the design "how is anyone supposed to know I have the new one"?

No, forget all that. The best indication that this is true, is the fact that the contents of this post could be seen as a slight against apple. Instead of just pointing out they have a strong market position and loyal customers which allows them to shape the future more than any other tech brand. Good on them for winning it! They've got highly polished products and wildly successful marketing. So they get a real opportunity to show everyone that they might actually like fingerprint scanning in a phone.

mercer• 13 years ago

I used to agree with your view, and unapologetically, err, apologize for apples choices anyways.

Then I switched to the Nexus 4, and I changed my mind slightly. On the one hand I love the thing. It can do lots of stuff that I like that I couldn't do on my iPhone, even after jailbreaking. But on the other hand, many of the common tasks leave me with irritations that I didn't have with the iPhone. UI inconsistencies, unintuitive interfaces, weird crashes, and generally stuff that made me miss my less-powerful iPhone.

Now, as a geek and a power user I am inclined to still prefer the Nexus, but only barely. But for my day to day stuff I'd switch back to an iPhone in a heartbeat.

So, I think saying it's all just fashion is not completely true. It is also about tech. And among most of my friends status has little to do with it (if anything, having an iPhone is boring over here in hipster land, and you're cooler with a fridge-sized Nokia that can only store 20 text messages).

gfodor2• 13 years ago

It's funny. I have a 4S since I'm on that upgrade cycle. Yet, when I see someone else with a 4 or 4S a deep reptilian part of my brain notices that, hey, they didn't spring for the 5. I'd like to believe it stops there and doesn't somehow subconsciously lead me to think anything about them, but who knows, the mind is a funny thing. We are hard wired and soft wired to compare ourselves to others, and as tech geeks you could hardly find a more obvious thing for this part of our brains to latch onto than the shiny computers in our pocket we flash around all the time.

Kind of amazing how that works, really, since it's completely irrational as I am literally a person who carries the same phone.

gcanyon• 13 years ago

Not that I'm a fan of the Apple fingerprint sensor, but there is a parallel here to Apple's wholesale adoption of USB, elimination of floppy drives, inclusion of wireless, elimination of physical phone keyboards etc. The market benefits when companies go all in on good features.

pacificleo1• 13 years ago

I know what fanboys will say "OMG Motorola copied the feature long before apple launched it ."

DigitalSea• 13 years ago

BUT BUT BUT, APPLE INVENTED FINGERPRINT SCANNERS!

In all seriousness though. Apple would never make claim to fingerprint technology on their phones. IBM Thinkpads past and present still have fingerprint readers you can use instead of a password. It's all about the execution and well, Apple executed way better than the Atrix.

seanmcdirmid2• 13 years ago

I have one on my x1 carbon, but it's a freemium add-on that requires us to buy more software to use it. That's the difference between Lenovo and Apple I guess.

rbanffy4• 13 years ago

Thy may have invented the first usable one. My laptops had them for ages and I never used them because they were never well integrated into the interface. Now Apple is showing one that is.

I'd bet on it quickly gaining widespread usage.

seanmcdirmid2• 13 years ago

To be fair, Atrix's sensor looks lie a standard slide based one, while Apple's sensor is completely contact based. I'm not sure what the implications of the different designs are yet, but I could imagine ease of use playing a role.

qq662• 13 years ago

A great illustration of the difference between technologies and products.

Motorola releases fingerprint sensor-embedded Android phone (2011)

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