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INTERNET SPACE
Google domain grows as Android takes root in TVs
By Glenn CHAPMAN
Las Vegas (AFP) Jan 6, 2015


EyeLock Inc debuts laptop with embedded iris scanner for security
Las Vegas (UPI) Jan 6, 2015 - A pre-production laptop computer with an iris-based identity authentication system for security embedded into it is being showcased by EyeLock Inc.

EyeLock says its system is comprised of a module that seamlessly integrates into existing laptop architectures without adding extra weight or bulk.

"The frequency and velocity of password breaches, data compromises and identity theft punctuates current systems' vulnerabilities and the need to move away from outdated security protocols," the company said. "EyeLock's breakthrough technology coupled with WNC's design and manufacturing expertise helped to create a best-in-class embedded laptop that could change the way people work and live, rendering passwords obsolete."

WNC is Wistron NeWeb Corporation, a designer and manufacturer of advanced wireless communication products with which EyeLock partnered to embed iris authentication technology in an original design manufacturer product using its myris solution.

EyeLock's iris authentication technology looks at more than 240 points an eye for identification.

The laptop is being displayed at the 2015 Consumer Electronics Show, which began Monday in Las Vegas, Nev.

Sony PS4 console sales top 18.5 million
Las Vegas (AFP) Jan 06, 2015 - Sony on Monday said sales of its PlayStation 4 video game consoles have topped 18.5 million.

Slightly more than four million PS4 units were bought during the year-end holiday season, Sony chief Kazuo Hirai said during a press conference at the Consumer Electronics Show gadget extravaganza taking place here this week.

"I'm liking those numbers," Hirai said. "This is a remarkable success for those consoles."

Game sales for PS4 consoles has remained strong, with more than 81.8 million copies sold as of Monday, according to the Japanese consumer electronics and entertainment titan.

Nearly 11 million people subscribe to a PlayStation Plus online network that delivers films, television shows, music and other digital content to consoles, according to Sony.

The PS4 console has been a bright spot for the struggling firm, which launched a sweeping restructuring in a bid to claw its way back to profitability.

The release of the PS4 in the United States and other markets has helped improve Sony's fortunes after a disappointing response to the console's predecessor, the PS3.

Nintendo's Wii U, launched in late 2012, took more than a year to sell just under six million units.

The PS4 is locked in a battle for dominance of the digital home entertainment market with Microsoft's Xbox One and the Wii U at a time when consoles are under intense pressure to prove their worth in a world where many now play downloadable games on smartphones and tablets.

PS4 outsold Xbox One consistently after both consoles launched in November of 2013, but Microsoft resorted to cutting the price of Xbox One and bundling games to boost sales during the recently ended holiday season.

Sony's gaming division has emerged as a potential savior for the company, which is struggling to reinvent itself in the digital age, having been left in the dust by nimbler rivals including South Korea's Samsung.

Google-backed Android software that leads the smartphone market is spreading to a new generation of smart televisions.

Along with unveilings of new ultra high-definition televisions at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week came word that Android will be the Internet-linked brains of an array of models from major manufacturers.

"All of our 2015 televisions will run on the new Android TV platform," Sony Electronics chief operating officer Mike Fasulo said while showing off coming products at CES.

"Android is such a widely accepted operating system in the mobile space; you can enjoy content on your smartphone, tablet and TV seamlessly."

Android-powered Sony televisions will allow access to games, applications and other digital content at the online Google Play shop, and viewers will be able to control TVs using the Japanese consumer electronic titan's smartwatch, according to Fasulo.

Sony, Sharp, and Philips smart televisions powered by Android will begin shipping by the middle of this year, Google vice president of engineering Hiroshi Lockheimer said in a blog post.

"When we launched Android with a single phone in 2008, we never imagined that we could connect over a billion people," Lockheimer said.

"And now, we're working closely with an entire ecosystem of TV partners -- hardware manufacturers, service providers, and chip makers -- to reimagine the living room."

Google introduced Android TV late last year. While the California-based Internet titan has taken stabs at television through boxes that connect to sets, coming TV models will have Android software built-in so only a single remote control is involved.

Android televisions boast features such as voice search and automatically synching with Google Cast that lets content from smartphones or tablets be channeled to the bigger screens.

- Android TV challengers -

Android has challengers in the smart TV arena, with long-time smartphone partner Samsung stepping up as a contender.

Beginning this year, Samsung will power its new smart televisions with Tizen operating software initially introduced for mobile devices in what hinted at a desire to break away from dependence on Android for smartphones and tablets.

"Samsung failed to reduce its dependence to Google's Android in the smartphone space in 2014," said Forrester analyst Thomas Husson.

"By introducing Tizen in new smart TVs and leveraging their strong brand in consumer electronics and home appliances, they could use the back door to try to dominate the new computing battleground taking place in connected objects."

To be successful, however, Samsung will need more content, partnerships, developers to create content and services that enhance the Tizen "ecosystem," the analyst maintained.

South Korea-based LG announced at CES an upgraded version of the webOS software it uses to power smart televisions, and said it plans to extend it to other smart devices.

Panasonic, meanwhile, touted an alliance with Mozilla to use Firefox operating system in its televisions.

Popular mobile devices operating systems such as those fielded by Google and Apple are seen by analysts as well positioned to serve as platforms tying together the myriad smart devices in what has come to be referred to as the Internet of Things.

"It is a challenge to make the Internet of Things work," Reticle Reseach analyst Ross Rubin told AFP.

"Apple is making a play there and Google is making a play there because one place for access is certainly in the smartphone that is always whith you."


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