Digital Lifescapes

Wearable devices will be a key component of the potential upside opportunities for many vendors pursuing applications within the emerging Internet of Things (IoT) market. New use cases are being explored by a growing ecosystem of software app developers. While you may initially think of fitness tracker applications, wearable devices are quickly migrating into the office and other work environments, with the wearable scanner market experiencing rapid expansion. According to the latest worldwide market study by ABI Research, enterprise wearable scanner shipments will reach nearly 22 million by 2021 -- that's an increase from just seven million in 2016. Wearable Scanner Market Development "Wearable scanners boost business productivity, offering workers a faster, hands-free alternative to the need for traditional hand-held scanners and paper picklists," says Stephanie Lawrence, research analyst at ABI Research . Ring barcode scanners, glove scanners, and smart glass...

There are now more than 6.4 billion mobile phones in circulation worldwide. They've evolved far beyond a simple means of two-way communications. They're now a multifaceted enabler of numerous day-to-day online activities made possible by mobile internet access. Clearly, there are both opportunities and challenges associated with this trend. As people increasingly complete more digital transactions via smartphones and other mobile devices, the need to verify their identity -- and protect it from theft -- becomes paramount. According to the latest market study by Juniper Research, the increased rollout of contactless payment services using fingerprint scanners will increase the number of biometrically authenticated transactions to nearly 5 billion by 2019 -- that's up from less than 130 million in 2015. Juniper observed that at present, only two services -- from Apple and Samsung -- used fingerprint scanners for authentication, with availability currently limited to the...