Samsung's P960 handset has a built-in DVR, while Lenovo's P960 includes a fingerprint scanner. Pointless trivia aside, the latter is also Lenovo's first commercial mobile phone to incorporate fingerprint biometrics. Atrua Technologies has provided a fingerprint scanner that resides on the handset's edge in order to provide additional security for folks (read: cheaters, FBI agents and Segway users) who simply cannot afford to let their contact list be known. Even dodgier, the phone has a VIP recording feature which "automatically records calls from designated numbers" -- something that's sure to provide hours upon hours of merriment. We'd bemoan the fact that pricing information isn't readily available, but we just can't get over that whole automatic recording thing.

Although RSA's SecurID two-factor authentication system is pretty solid (except for when the keys go out of sync), it looks like organizations with even more stringent security requirements might be interested in UPEK's new Eikon To Go RSA key, which adds a fingerprint reader to the mix. Yep, nothing really too wild -- but it's definitely one of the cooler-looking SecurID keys we've seen out there.

Life is tough for a smoker: not only are you slowing killing yourself from ten different cancers, it's getting harder and harder to enjoy that rich, deadly tobacco in public venues. Smokers in most big cities are already accustomed to heading outside for a nicotine break, and now some are being confronted with a fingerprint reader called 'smokescreen' that controls re-entry to clubs and bars after they've sucked down those precious puffs of smoke. Made by UK manufacturer idscan, smokescreen is marketed as an easy way for owners to combat bracelet or hand-stamp fraud, and also keeps track of how many people are outside at any given time. Best of all, those nic-heads loitering for too long and killing the ambiance can be locked out after a preset amount of time, either forcing them to the back of the line or perhaps giving them the kick in the pants they need to quit.

[Via CNET]

Tired of watching all of your PC friends with their fancy, new-fangled fingerprint readers, showing off how protected their computers are and how safe their data is? We feel your pain, Mac dudes and dudettes, and so does UPEK. Enter the company's Eikon "digital privacy manager," or, as we like to call it -- a fingerprint reader. Using the USB-powered device, users can enjoy privileges common to most PC users these days, like; logging onto their computers, accessing password protected websites, opening administrator access on their system, and generally looking like a super-futuristic bad-ass. The Eikon is available now and selling for the astounding price of $39.99

With fingerprint scanners having become almost a commodity item nowadays-- we've already got a hard drive and thumb drive on biometric lockdown -- it looks like we may now be in for a sensitivity war (oxymoron?) among these devices similar to the ongoing megapixel escalation in digital cameras. Even though it's probably still vulnerable to Play-Doh-equipped hackers, NEC's new external USB reader offers an impressive 800dpi in its 15-millimeter wide sensor -- it seems the best you can do today is around 500dpi -- which at the very least will marginally speed up your web surfing, thanks to its slim 0.0001% chance of misidentifying a print. This "reading precision of the worldwide highest level" (thanks, machine translation) won't come cheap, though, as the pocket-size PU700-20 will cost about $250 when it ships on August 1st.

[Via Digital World Tokyo]