The iPhone 5S Fingerprint Scanner Opens Up A World Of Commerce Opportunities

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How Biometric iPhones Could Change Commerce (Bloomberg Businessweek)
The iPhone 5S debuted yesterday, and one of the notable new features is the fingerprint scan technology built into the home button. For now, it will help users quickly unlock phones and users can make iTunes purchases. Though it is limited in its current iteration, as time goes on, Apple could open up to developers looking to incorporate fingerprint scan technology for in-app purchases. Apple's other new technology, iBeacon, allows the iPhone to communicate with nearby sensors. This could open up the opportunity for physical retailers to offer coupons of flash deals to users entering the store. Read >

Apple Will Ship Its 700 Millionth Device Next Month (TechCrunch)
Lots of Apple announcements yesterday. While debuting the new iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C handsets, Apple CEO Tim Cook also let out an interesting fact — Apple will ship its 700 millionth iOS device within the next month. Horace Dediu of Asymco points out, that equates to about 57 million shipments between the end of June and October. To compare apples to apples, Android crossed the 1 billion device threshold earlier this month. Read >

Apple Discontinues iPhone 5, Makes 4S Free (The Verge)
With a new device launch, Apple typically discounts the most recent version of the device available on the market. Instead, this time, Apple will discontinue the iPhone 5 entirely and will reduce the iPhone 4S price from $99 on a 2-year contract to free on a 2-year contract. It may be a clever attempt to lure potential buyers to the 5C. Read >

Apple's Reputation For Innovation Is Now Its Greatest Liability (Wired)
Wired looks at the innovation history of Apple and how its greatest strength has now become a liability. Consumer expectations are extremely high, as many hope for highly innovative devices or breakthroughs every year. With smartphone innovation at the top slowing, Apple may be falling out of favor with its expectation-heavy audience. Read >

The iPhone 5S Will Be Twice As Fast As The Old 5; 40X Faster Than The Original iPhone (Business Insider)
Jay Yarow of SAI highlights an interesting chart from the Apple media event showing the incremental gains in processing speeds throughout Apple's device history. The new iPhone 5S will be the first smartphone to run on a 64-bit processor. Read >

BlackBerry Will Cut Half Of Its U.S. Sales Force (CNet)
The beleaguered device manufacturer will be forced to make more cuts in the short term, ahead of the already 5,000 planned for the company's fiscal year. Read >

Walmart Launches Smartphone Trade-In Program (ABC)
On the heels of new iPhone announcements, Walmart will look to capitalize on the burgeoning second-hand device market. The giant retailer will supposedly hand customers up to $300 in store credit for a used iPhone 5. One stipulation — potential traders looking to buy a new phone from Walmart must sign up for a new two-year contract with their existing carrier or purchase Walmart prepaid wireless plans. Read >

An Oral History Of Apple Design (Fast Company)
Fast Company features a six-part overview of Apple's design history. Read >