Apple has purchased AuthenTec Inc. for a reported $356 million, in a move that could make iPhones and iPads more secure for mobile payments.
AuthenTec, maker of fingerprint sensors and security solutions, “owns many of the foundational technology patents from the fingerprint biometric industry, and today has a broad IP and patent portfolio consisting of nearly 200 issued and filed U.S. patents, as well as additional foreign patent derivatives,” according to the company.
“Apple is paying $8 a share for the Melbourne, Florida-based company, according to an SEC filing,” reports Forbes. “AuthenTec, founded in 1998, says it has shipped more than 100 million fingerprint sensors for use in PCs and other electronic gadgets, including more than 15 million mobile phones. Apple’s Mac computers currently don’t have a fingerprint pad for security purposes, though other PCs do.”
Analyst Brian White of Topeka Capital Markets suggests we’ll see Apple devices with fingerprint access, as well as “a mobile commerce system built using the Near Field Communications (NFC) technology he predicts will be included in the new iPhone 5,” notes the article.
Apple CEO Tim Cook has already announced that this fall’s release of iOS 6 would include Passbook, a new feature for consolidating tickets, boarding passes and discount cards. “Turning it into a digital wallet seems likely a next step,” suggests Forbes.
“With Passbook, you can scan your iPhone or iPod touch to check in for a flight, get into a movie, and redeem a coupon,” according to Apple. “You can also see when your coupons expire, where your concert seats are, and the balance left on that all-important coffee bar card.”
Apple has purchased AuthenTec Inc. for a reported $356 million, in a move that could make iPhones and iPads more secure for mobile payments.
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