Thursday, August 9, 2012

Another Tablet with a Fingerprint Reader

Lenovo confirms full Windows 8 ThinkPad tablet (electronista)
The display is a 1366x768 IPS display, with a front-facing 2MP camera, and a rear-facing 8MP camera. Video output is provided by a micro-HDMI port. Wireless connectivity is provided by integrated 802.11n and optional 3G or 4G. A near-field communication (NFC) radio is installed, with biometric security provided by a fingerprint reader.
I think we'll be seeing more of this. Password technology is already a bit of a nuisance even when a fully functioning keyboard is attached to the hardware. Tablets don't have keyboards and the virtual keyboards they use are a big step down from their hardware cousins in terms of usability.

I think manufacturers are coming around to the idea that, for tablets, fingerprint readers are more convenient than passwords. Another fact of the mobile computing device market seems to be that convenience trumps security every time.