Google is getting ready to expand its Nexus program, a report from The Wall Street Journal says, and will soon offer a “portfolio” of Nexus-like flagship devices. Instead of selecting a single manufacturer to make each Nexus model, as it’s done in the past, El Goog will reportedly work with up to five different manufacturers in order to offer a wide selection of stock devices — both phones and tablets.

According to the Journal, Google will sell all those Nexus devices directly to users through its new Google Play Device Store. It’ll supposedly offer direct sales to users in the U.S., Europe, and Asia; it might even partner up with some retailers to expand the program.

With that step, everything that’s happened lately — the talk of a Google-branded tablet, the launch of a carrier-free Google Nexus store — suddenly all makes sense. It all leads up to this. This is how Google is taking back control of Android: It’s doing it in a very Googley way. In this model, everyone can still customize and modify the platform all they want, but Google will have its own inner circle of premium devices with pure and premium experiences. From hardware to software and carrier control, this army of Nexus devices could finally deliver the full “Google experience” — the experience that Google has long wanted to provide.

By JR Raphael, CW

For full details, please click here

That’s the key finding of a new Forrester Research report that predicts the end of the laptop’s 15-year reign. The trend is already well under way among people born between 1980 and 2000, known to demographers as the millennial generation. In the U.S., 30% of tablet owners in this age group have purchased a tablet in place of a PC, compared to 20% of baby boomers.

Tablets are expected to outsell laptops in 2016 as tablet shipments quintuple from 81.6 million in 2011 to 424.9 million by 2017, according to research firm DisplaySearch.

Note that tablet dominance doesn’t mean iPad dominance. Apple’s market share will shrink from its current 68%, dropping below 50% by 2017, according to the NPD Group. Nevertheless, Forrester predicts that Apple will continue to lead in the enterprise and among premium buyers worldwide. Tablets based on Google’s Android platform will capture the low end. Microsoft Windows 8 tablets, expected to reach stores by the end of the year, will become a strong competitor in 2014.

While laptops will no longer be the center of the personal computing universe, they won’t disappear for a long time. The transition to tablets will take years, and meanwhile laptops will be used for graphic- and processing-intensive tasks such as graphic design, engineering and complex calculation. But as tablets become better-suited to a wide range of tasks, and the support technologies become more widespread, most people will find them simpler and more convenient. Then, Forrester says, even die-hard laptop lovers will ditch their notebooks and jump on the tablet juggernaut.

By Antone Gonsalves, ReadWriteMobile

For full details, please click here

With the news that note-taking app Evernote has acquired Penultimate, a digital handwriting specialist, could we be nearing the second coming of the stylus?

Ironically, it’s a tablet from a company resolutely anti-stylus that has brought the pen back into vogue. Steve Jobs’ stance on styli was clear, but there’s a growing cadre of apps and users who are turning back to the extra precision and task-specific usability that a pen can deliver. Software like Taposé, mimicking the Courier experience as best it can without an active digitizer, as well as Paper and various graphics apps from big names like Adobe have all sent iPad owners scuttling to find the best of what is, boiled down, a compromise: a faux-fingertip on a stick.

Evernote has been pretty specific about what is planned for Penultimate. The app will stay an independent download – $0.99 for the iPad from the App Store – but gain search and sync support with Evernote accounts. Meanwhile its creator, Ben Zotto, will join the Evernote team and “lead the effort” to integrate handwriting and digital ink support into future versions of the main product itself.

If the rise of capacitive stylii and, perhaps on a smaller scale, the Galaxy Note have shown us, it’s that users often need a helping hand to recognize exactly what they can achieve with new tools. Evernote and Penultimate look to be leading that next charge, and it could be just the shove that puts the stylus back into the limelight.

By Chris Davies, SlashGear – For full details, please click here

On the heels of a $70 million million funding round, Evernote has acquired bestselling iPad handwriting app Penultimate for an undisclosed sum, the company announced on its blog. Penultimate creator Ben Zotto is joining Evernote to run its app development team, and will “lead the effort to put handwriting and digital ink functionality into other Evernote products and platforms.”

Penultimate, which costs $0.99, will remain a separate application “and will get many much-requested Evernote-y improvements including full search and synchronization.” Apple lists Penultimate as its #4 most-downloaded paid iPad app.

Read more

Nielsen shed some light on how consumers are using both types of devices to aid their shopping.

Overall, 79 percent of respondents in a survey conducted in the first quarter said they had shopped using their smartphone or tablet. But when it came time to buy, 42 percent of tablet owners said they bought purchased items on their device compared to 29 percent of smartphone owners.

For things like finding a store (73 percent of smartphone owners versus 42 percent of tablet owners), using shopping lists (42 percent v. 16 percent for tablets) and mobile coupons (32 percent v. 11 percent) there’s a clear preference for smartphones.

For price-checking, the smartphone has a smaller edge (62 percent v. 52 percent for tablets) while both devices are good for research before a purchase, with people preferring the tablet 66 percent over the smartphone 57 percent.

As a payment tool, both devices are still finding their way. Nielsen said that 28 percent of tablet owners and 27 percent of smartphone users have used their devices for payment.

By Ryan Kim, GigaOM

For full details, please click here

FRAMINGHAM, Mass. May 1, 2012 – The worldwide mobile phone market declined 1.5% year over year in the first quarter of 2012 (1Q12), as Samsung ousted longtime leader Nokia to become the world’s top mobile phone vendor. According to the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, vendors shipped 398.4 million units in 1Q12 compared to 404.3 million units in the first quarter of 2011.

Nokia has been the global market leader in total mobile phone shipments since the inception of IDC’s Mobile Phone Tracker in 2004. Samsung’s ascension to the market’s top spot is largely a reflection of its gains in the smartphone market over the past two years. “The halcyon days of rapid growth in the smartphone market have been good to Samsung,” said Kevin Restivo, senior research analyst with IDC’s Worldwide Mobile Phone Tracker program. “Samsung has used its established relationships with carriers in a mix of economically diverse markets to gain share organically and at the expense of former high fliers such as Nokia.”

Meanwhile, the worldwide smartphone market grew 42.5% year over year in 1Q12, as Samsung overtook Apple for the smartphone leadership position. Vendors shipped 144.9 million smartphones in 1Q12 compared to 101.7 million units in 1Q11. The 42.5% year-over-year growth was 1% higher than IDC’s forecast of 41.5% for the quarter, and lower than the 57.4% growth in the fourth quarter of 2011.

“The race between Apple and Samsung remained tight during the quarter, even as both companies posted growth in key areas,” said Ramon Llamas, senior research analyst with IDC’s Mobile Phone Technology and Trends program. “Apple launched its popular iPhone 4S in additional key markets, most notably in China, and Samsung experienced continued success from its Galaxy Note smartphone/tablet and other Galaxy smartphones. With other companies in the midst of major strategic transitions, the contest between Apple and Samsung will bear close observation as hotly-anticipated new models are launched.”

Smartphone Vendor Highlights

Samsung reclaimed the smartphone leadership position and established a new market record for the number of smartphones shipped in a single quarter. Propelling the company forward was continued expansion of its Galaxy portfolio in nearly all directions – new and old smartphones, product and market segmentation, and multiple price points, screen sizes, and processor speeds.

Apple slipped to second place in the worldwide smartphone market, but nonetheless posted strong year-over-year growth to reach 35.1 million units shipped. Apple’s gains in the market benefited from iPhone availability at additional mobile operators worldwide, as well as sustained end-user demand among both consumers and enterprise users.

Nokia’s Symbian phone shipments declined precipitously last quarter as demand dropped in key emerging markets, such as China. The company’s current smartphone woes make a speedy transition to products powered by the Windows Phone operating system, upon which it has bet its smartphone future, critical.

Research In Motion’s BlackBerry unit decline continued last quarter, reaching levels not seen since 2009. Like Nokia, RIM is a company in transition. Smartphones running on its new platform, BB 10, will be released later this year. Until then, results like these may be a sign of things to come.

HTC’s struggles in the U.S. market once again negatively affected its overall performance. However, its relatively strong performance in Asia/Pacific still allowed the company to maintain its position among the top 5 smartphone vendors. The company is staking future success in large part on its One X and S products.

There are lots of business apps available for the iPad. And tablets are finding roles as point-of-sale terminals in retail stores and restaurants. But have tablets really earned their place in office cubicles and other work environments? And if so, what exactly are workers doing with them?

Companies are buying them – or plan to. The Clark County, Nevada school system spent more than $1 million over six months on more than 1,800 iPads for facualty, administrators and students. The Financial Times spent more than $1 million over six months buying nearly 2,000 subsidized iPads for its entire staff.

But why are they buying, and what are they hoping to get for their money?

In the case of the Financial Times, it looks like they were fishing for style. Their CEO acknowledged that the subsidy was essentially a bonus – a “recognition of your contribution to our strong performance this year.” For most businesses, the primary benefit appears to be portability, which explains the tablet’s appeal to education, sales and other mobile-minded groups. An Accenture report claims that mobility is indeed, king. “Arguably, [the tablet’s killer app in the enterprise] is the tablet itself enabling instant access to thousands of Web-enabled apps. ”  It’s an excellent point. Mobile access to enterprise data is what made the smartphone market, and tablets have several key advantages in those areas. And there are dedicated tablet apps from folks as well-heeled as SAP. But business apps that couldn’t exist on anything but a tablet? Those are harder to find.

The Forrester report summed up the current state of the enterprise tablet:

Users want to accomplish work primarily through their PCs – where they can consume, collaborate, and create. But they also recognize that during certain times, in certain locations, or when mobile they prefer to use nonstandard form factors, including tablets – where they can consume and collaborate, but not create.

The real opportunity, though, is to create business applications that work better on a tablet than on other platforms.

By Cormac Foster, RWW  For full details, please click here

By David Goldman @CNNMoneyTech

Microsoft’s big vision: Whether you’re using your TV, PC, tablet, phone, or almost any other device that comes along, you’ll be able to accomplish all the same tasks through all the same platform. The form factor will change, but the core experience won’t.

For full details, please click here

Windows 8 tablet developers — or anyone, for that matter — can test their apps and play with the Microsoft’s Metro interface from within the confines of Apple’s ubiquitous tablet.

The functionality is made possible by Splashtop, which is known for its remote desktop apps that are currently available for Android and iOS. It seems that a good amount of effort went into this application, known as the Win8 Metro Testbed, which offers the same swipe capabilities that will be available on a native system. This includes the ability to swipe from the left to switch apps, swipe from the right to reveal the Charms menu, and pull down from the top to close an application.
Splashtop Win8 Metro Testbed is currently available for a promotional $24.99 in the iTunes App Store, whereafter it will sell for $49.99.

Read more: http://www.engadget.com/2012/04/13/splashtop-brings-windows-8-to-apple-ipad-video/

STAMFORD, Conn., April 10, 2012 — Worldwide media tablet sales to end users are forecast to total 118.9 million units in 2012, a 98 percent increase from 2011 sales of 60 million units, according to Gartner, Inc.

Apple’s iOS continues to be the dominant media tablet operating system (OS), as it is projected to account for 61.4 percent of worldwide media tablet sales to end users in 2012 (see Table 1). Despite the arrival of Microsoft-based devices to this market, and the expected international rollout of the Kindle Fire, Apple will continue to be the market leader through the forecast period.

“Despite PC vendors and phone manufacturers wanting a piece of the pie and launching themselves into the media tablet market, so far, we have seen very limited success outside of Apple with its iPad,” said Carolina Milanesi, research vice president at Gartner. “As vendors struggled to compete on price and differentiate enough on either the hardware or ecosystem, inventories were built and only 60 million units actually reached the hands of consumers across the world. The situation has not improved in early 2012, when the arrival of the new iPad has reset the benchmark for the product to beat.”

Microsoft tablets are projected to account for 4.1 percent of media tablet sales this year, and grow to 11.8 percent of sales by the end of 2016. Windows 8 is Microsoft’s official entrance into the media tablet market.

Android tablets are forecast to account for 31.9 percent of media tablet sales in 2012. Gartner analysts said the main issue with Android tablets has been the lack of applications that are dedicated to tablets and therefore take advantage of their capabilities. Gartner’s consumer survey data shows that consumers are running many of their apps on their mobile phones and their tablets.

For full details, please click here

Please vote for SIGNificant in the Samsung App Challenge. Thank You!

To vote, please click here

About the Challenge

Samsung invites software developers to create S Pen-integrated apps for Galaxy Note using the S Pen SDK. Winners will receive $205,000 in cash and prizes as well as promotional exposure and recognition in Samsung digital social media. Prizes will be awarded for the best overall apps and for category honorable mention awards in games, media, sports, social, lifestyle, travel, education, productivity, entertainment, and other.

Developers must use the Samsung S Pen SDK library to integrate S Pen functionality into a new or existing Android application that runs on Galaxy Note. Apps will be evaluated based on the overall user experience of the app on Galaxy Note, the quality of the idea, and the functional implementation, including S Pen integration. Developers retain ownership of their applications and may charge for them or provide them for free. When uploading apps to Google Play, developers are encouraged to include “Made for S Pen Galaxy Note” in the description of the app and to uncheck the box that says “All Devices.”

The challenge is open to individuals and teams of individuals who are residents of the 50 United States and it territories, as well as organizations domiciled in the 50 United States and its territories.

Whether you’re sick of getting fingerprints all over your iPad or you want to get seriously creative, try a stylus for your tablet:

1. Cosmonaut by Studio Neat
2. Adonit Jot Pro
3. Wacom Bamboo Stylus
4. Griffin Stylus
5. AmazonBasics Stylus
6. LunaTik Touch Pen
7. Nomad Compose
8. Sensu iPad Paintbrush by Artist Hardware

Most of the gadgets are compatible with nearly any capacitive touchscreen, so you don’t necessarily have to own the latest and greatest iPad.

By Stephanie Buck, Mashable. For full details, please click here

Jon Mitchell (RWW) provides in his article an interesting example of user experience:
The iPad Isn’t Ready for Working by Hand

Last week’s release of Paper for iPad was a huge boon to the cottage industry of third-party iPad styluses. It was hardly the first app for drawing or writing directly on the screen of an iOS device, but it struck a chord. It was just the right blend of skeuomorphic real-world design and familiar iOS gestures. I had never even considered a stylus before, but this seemed like my chance.

I travel the Internet in fairly Apple-obsessed early-adopter circles, so I went with the stylus I’d seen recommended most often: the Cosmonaut by Studio Neat. Studio Neat made the Glif camera mount, one of the most celebrated iPhone peripherals around, so it seemed like a safe bet.

The Cosmonaut arrived in short order in spartan, Space Race packaging. It’s fairly wide to hold like a pen. It’s black, grippy and dense, the exact same length as an iPhone. The business end exhibits the capacitive properties the touch screen requires: a soft touch that gives way gradually to pressure, just like a fingertip, but more precise.

I quickly found to my surprise that the stylus is a satisfying cursor for normal iOS activity. Launching apps, tapping around, pull-to-refresh, all the usual finger gestures felt pleasantly precise and snappy with the stylus. That’s not its intended use, of course, but it’s an enjoyable way to change up one’s routine.

Unfortunately, it got frustrating as I tried to use the stylus for its real purpose. I am no gifted draftsman, but I found the stylus rather blunt and imprecise in my drawing forays using Paper. There’s no question it was more accurate than the finger. Drawing with a finger on a glass screen feels clumsy and dully painful. But the stylus didn’t feel like much of anything.

Since writing is my actual trade, I decided to give handwriting a shot. I was not thrilled with the results. It’s very difficult to write small enough using this stylus, but perhaps the wide grip is the problem. There may be better styluses for writing on the iPad, and I’d happily take recommendations.

The Cosmonaut was still vastly better than writing with the tip of my index finger.

Writing and drawing depend on physical feedback, and the glass provides none. The abstraction is there when we touch the iPad with our fingers, too. There’s no feedback at all, so the software creates illusions of feedback with sounds and images. Those are less compelling with a stylus rather than hands directly on the glass. But don’t blame the stylus. A flat slate of glass is not a tactile work environment. It’s great for abstract work, but not for real handiwork.

For full details, please click here

In the past three months, Nielsen says, Apple has grabbed a 43% share of the smartphones sold in the U.S., versus a high-20s percentage a year ago.

Android’s share has also increased versus a year ago — it still leads the market with 48% — but Android’s share gains appear to have stalled. Android’s “installed base,” moreover–the percentage of the overall US smartphone installed base, not just recent sales–is also 48%.

Lastly, and also importantly, Apple is completely dominating the global tablet market, in which Android is basically nowhere (unless you count Amazon’s Kindle Fire, but that’s Android in name only.)

Globally, Android is still miles ahead of Apple. But in the U.S., it’s a two-horse race.

For full details, please click here

xyzmo’s SIGNificant Server allows you to electronically sign documents such as contracts or agreements with your handwritten signature captured by a signature pad, a mobile tablet, a smartphone such as an iPad or Android device or even a payment terminal. It safely stores and binds the unique biometric data of the captured handwritten signature to the document and supports forensic analysis by a signature expert in case of a dispute. Sealing the document with a digital signature also protects it from unrecognized modifications. Its server-based architecture does not just enhance document security by locking the original document on the server, but also simplifies integration into server-side document workflows and centralized document management.

 Customer Benefits

• Sign as simply as on paper
• Socially accepted – handwritten e-signatures require no changes in customers’ habits
• Avoid lost documents, missing attachments and signatures
• Paperless contract execution to save front/back office costs in labor, printing, scanning, faxing, mailing of paper originals and long-term storage
• Reduce fraud by protecting documents from modification and by optional real-time signature verification to authenticate a signer
• Increase revenue by making more time available for up-/cross-selling and closing deals faster
• Provides a modern image to end-customers
• Helps to save the planet!
• Typical ROI in 6 to 12 months

Unique Advantages

• Robust and proven server architecture with a broad installation base and many deployments
• Highly scalable architecture that allows you to sign hundreds of thousands of documents per hour
• End-to-end security of the biometric data of captured signatures
• Original document is locked in the secure server environment and never gets copied to a client
• Fast and easy integration into any existing DMS, ERP, CRM, archiving or other legacy systems, using the extensive SIGNificant API
• Supports different client platforms such as Windows, Java, Web Browser, iPad and Android
• Independence from signature-capture device vendors – simply change hardware without changing the software integration

 Key Features

• Biometrically Sign a Document - Securely embed the encrypted biometric data of a handwritten signature captured with a signature pad or tablet computer, which prevents its misuse. Allow export of this signature data for authorized forensic analysis by a signature expert using the corresponding private encryption key.
• Digitally Sign and Seal a Document - Protect the integrity of PDF documents by sealing them with a digital signature. Supports any x509v3 certificate provided through the Windows certificate store of SIGNificant Server or through the web service interface of a client (e.g. a certificate stored in a HSM or on a local desktop PC).
• Document Binding - SIGNificant binds the biometric signature data securely on to a document using its hash value. Copy/paste attacks can thus be easily detected.
• Web Service Interface - The SIGNificant Server offers a platform-independent web service interface (SOAP and RST/JSON).
• Timestamping - The digital signature can include a timestamp from any RFC 3161 conformant timestamp server (TSA).
• Full PDF/A Conformance - The signing process is PDF/A 1a/1b conformant to enable long-term archiving.
• Optimized for Server-Based Processing - After uploading a document to the server, the client application can work with a unique ‘document id’ to reference the uploaded file. Consecutive operations (e.g. sign, attach file, etc.) on this file work solely with this ‘document id’, avoiding unnecessary upload/download operations.
• Optimized for Low Bandwidth - Files can be uploaded/downloaded in ‘chunks’, avoiding timeouts when transferring files over slow network connections.
• Digital Signature Integrity Verification - The digital signatures of a document can be verified to ensure the integrity of the document.
• Powerful String Parsing - The parsing method has the capability of searching for (and optionally removing) strings from a PDF document. This is used to obtain the signature field positions from a document.
• Flatten PDFs – Merge all advanced PDF layout features into a fresh ‘flat’ PDF document to send to a recipient using basic PDF reader software (typically used on smartphones and iPads), which will not otherwise show signatures, annotations, etc.
• PDF and PDF/A conversion - Convert documents into PDF or PDF/A for e-signing through built-in third-party components.

Workstep Controller (WSC)

• Define Document Tasks -The WSC lets you define the ‘Tasks’ for a user to complete a document: sign a signature field, attach an image, etc.
• Define Document Policy - Use policies to allow or deny document actions: allow saving or emailing, allow adding ad hoc signature fields or annotations, allow rejection of the whole document, etc.
• Web Service Interface - Integrate the creation and processing of worksteps through a SOAP API. A workstep is the document, its tasks and a policy.
• Visually Design Worksteps - Use the ‘Workstep Designer’ in your web browser to design worksteps with their tasks and policies, using only point and click.
• Process Integration - Smoothly integrate with any process: start the signing process via a URL and call a custom HTTP page when a user finishes (or rejects) a workstep.

Web-Signing Interface (WSI)

Browser-based user interface to sign PDF documents with SIGNificant Server without requiring a PDF reader plugin.

• Sign documents with your handwritten signature captured from an attached signature pad
• Sign documents with a local certificate
• Real-time rendering of the signature-capture process from the pad in the web browser
• Attach a picture from your webcam or scanner to your document (e.g. for capturing ID cards)
• Annotate PDFs with text or freehand edits
• Open PDFs on your hard disk for signing
• Open ‘Workstep’ documents and navigate through the signing process
• Easily navigate through all signature fields in a document
• Reject a signature in a customer process
• Enforce policies from the ‘Workstep Controller’
• Full customization of the UI by editing the source code of the underlying ASPX page
• Print-to-Sign using the SIGNificant Server Printer to start the signing process from any application that can print. Uploads the document to the SIGNificant Server for processing and signing in the Web-Signing Interface

iPad / Android SIGNificant Apps

Native apps to sign PDF documents either with the finger or a pen/stylus – even when no Internet connection is available. No need for additional signing pads.

• Sign documents with your handwritten signature
• Support native pens providing pressure and high-data rates
• Take a picture and add it to the document (e.g. for capturing ID cards)
• Annotate PDFs with text
• Open ‘Workstep’ docs via links from the SIGNificant Server instead of having the PDFs locally
• Open PDFs locally for signing from any other application (e.g. from an email)
• Browse through documents
• Navigate through the signing process
• Save your signed PDFs to the applications storage or Dropbox
• Email your signed documents
• Reject a signature in a customer process
• Enforce policies from the ‘Workstep Controller’
• Powerful SDK for full UI customization and seamless integration into custom apps
• Offline document caching to sign documents without needing an Internet connection

Other Signing Clients

• Custom Application / SDK - Seamless integration into custom client applications through the SIGNificant Device SDK.
• Windows Mobile 6.x - Sign receipts directly using the pen on a Windows mobile phone.
• Cash Register - Sign credit card/debit slips directly with a signature pad connected to your cash machine.
• Click2Sign - Digitally sign documents with a one-time-password that you get e.g. via SMS or email.

The new iPad is admirably peppy, though I never found my original iPad to be slow. My kids enjoy messing with the built-in cameras, but that’s a luxury I certainly don’t need. Using an iPad to snap photos or video is like driving a monster truck to the grocery store: uncomfortable and impractical (to say nothing of showy). The only thing that I’ll actually miss is big-screen FaceTime — but for those moments I can always Skype on my laptop.

The new iPad is a little slimmer, a little faster, and little easier on the eyes than the original. Not enough, Apple.

So here’s the upshot: for one-third of what I paid for the new iPad, I can accomplish 95 percent of what I want to do with a Kindle, and with a smaller design I find more appealing. Different strokes for different folks, of course, but for me this is a no brainer: I’m returning the new iPad and jumping into the Fire.

By Rick Broida, CNET

For full details, please click here

With this agreement innovative solutions of document dematerialization are now available, which will ensure rapid ROI and bring significant benefits to banks, insurance companies, public bodies and other organizations with a large number of users.

Milan, 26 March, 2012 – Intesi Group SpA, an Italian company operating in information and communication technology with specialization in digital signature products and services, and application and service management, and xyzmo SIGNificant, an Austrian company leader in e-signature platforms, have announced a technology and commercial partnership aimed to integrate xyzmo SIGNificant products with Intesi Group digital signature solutions.

In particular, Intesi Group will integrate biometric signature solutions into its PkSuite digital signature family of products, extending its range of offerings and allowing customers to achieve significant and tangible benefits with a rapid return on investment (ROI). The innovative dematerialization solutions made possible by this new partnership are ideal for organizations with large user-bases and transactions requiring a signature, such as banks, insurance companies, telecommunications companies, utilities and public bodies.

xyzmo SIGNificant solutions enable the extraction of fingerprint biometrics from signatures applied on tablets using a special algorithm, as well as measurement of various parameters (rhythm, speed, pressure, motion and acceleration), thereby ensuring its uniqueness. In case of dispute over signature authenticity, it is possible to decrypt the biometric fingerprint for analysis by an independent graphologist. With the integration of biometric signature into Intesi Group digital signature solutions, the integrity, inviolability and impossibility of subsequent changes in signed documents are now guaranteed.

In this way, the integrated solution proposed by Intesi Group and xyzmo SIGNificant becomes the perfect tool for subscription forms, permissions, contracts and other official documents, ensuring the highest levels of security, saving paper and delivering economic and environmental benefits.

“The agreement with xyzmo SIGNificant is of great importance, mainly for three reasons,” says Fernando Catullo, CEO of Intesi Group. “It is a partnership with a company that, like us, considers technological innovation not just a slogan but a daily reality. It allows us to expand our portfolio of offerings. And, above all, it allows rapid and tangible return on investment for customers.”

The validity of biometric signature is also endorsed by its massive adoption outsideItaly, especially in industries such as finance, telecommunication and public bodies.

 “Even in Italy something is changing, especially with the recent adoption of our biometric solution by a leading financial institution for a large-scale project,” says Gerald Cäsar, CEO and Managing Partner of xyzmo SIGNificant. “We believe that the new partnership with Intesi Group, a leading provider of digital signature, security and document dematerialization in Italy, could accelerate the diffusion of biometric signature and strengthen our presence in one of the most important European economies.”

Intesi Group

Intesi Group SpA is an Italian company operating in information and communication technology with a specialization in products and services relating to digital signature and application and service management. A wholly self-funded private company since 1998 when it was established, Intesi Group is in constant and rapid growth, with 2011 revenues of EUR 8.4 million and more than 100 highly qualified professionals constantly driven to innovation.

For more information visit www.intesigroup.com

xyzmo Software GmbH

xyzmo Software GmbH is a private company based in Ansfelden (Austria), with offices in the US andRomania. Over the last 10 years xyzmo has developed in-depth expertise in digital signature technologies and is a recognized leader in providing digital and electronic signature solutions. xyzmo’s digital signature platform allows contracts, agreements, NDAs, forms, or any document that requires a signature, to be signed electronically on signature pads, payment terminals, iPads and Android devices with digital certificates or online, via ‘click-to-sign’.

For more information visit www.xyzmo.com

 Con l’accordo odierno, soluzioni innovative di dematerializzazione documentale che garantiscono ROI rapidissimo e vantaggi notevoli a banche, assicurazioni, P.A. e a ogni altra organizzazione con un elevato numero di utenti

 Milano, 26 marzo 2012 – Intesi Group SpA, azienda italiana operante nell’Information & Communication Technology con specializzazione in prodotti e servizi di Firma Digitale e Application & Service Management, e Xyzmo SIGNificant GmbH, società austriaca leader nelle piattaforme di e-signature annunciano di aver siglato una partnership tecnologica e commerciale finalizzata all’integrazione dei prodotti Xyzmo SIGNificant con i prodotti di firma digitale di Intesi Group.

In particolare, Intesi Group integrerà le soluzioni di firma grafometrica nella famiglia di prodotti PKSuite, la gamma di soluzioni di firma digitale, ampliando così la propria offerta e consentendo ai clienti di ottenere vantaggi concreti e rilevanti con un rapidissimo ritorno sull’investimento (ROI).

Le innovative soluzioni di dematerializzazione documentale, rese possibili dalla nuova partnership, rappresentano l’ideale per organizzazioni con grandi basi-utenti e numerose operazioni di sportello con necessità di firma, quali istituti bancari, assicurazioni, operatori di telecomunicazioni, utilties e amministrazioni pubbliche.

Le soluzioni Xyzmo SIGNificant consentono di estrarre l’impronta biometrica dalle firme apposte su tablet mediante un apposito algoritmo e la rilevazione di diversi parametri (ritmo, velocità, pressione, movimento e accelerazione), garantendone così l’univocità.

In caso di contestazione dell’autenticità della firma, è possibile decifrare l’impronta biometrica apposta consentendo un’analisi peritale ufficiale da parte di un grafologo indipendente.

Grazie all’integrazione della firma grafometrica nelle soluzioni di firma digitale di Intesi Group, viene garantita l’integrità, l’inviolabilità e l’assenza di modifiche successive del documento su cui è stata apposta.

In questo modo, la soluzione integrata di firma proposta da Intesi Group e Xyzmo SIGNificant diventa lo strumento ottimale per la sottoscrizione di moduli, autorizzazioni, contratti e altri documenti ufficiali, garantendo massimi livelli di sicurezza, risparmio di carta, benefici economici ed ambientali.

“L’accordo con Xyzmo SIGNificant è di grande importanza, essenzialmente per tre motivi – spiega Fernando Catullo, amministratore delegato di Intesi Group – Perché si tratta di una partnership con un’azienda che, come noi, fa dell’innovazione tecnologica non un semplice slogan, ma una realtà quotidiana. Perché ci consente di ampliare il nostro portafoglio d’offerta. E, soprattutto, perché si traduce nella realizzazione di una soluzione che permette tangibili e rapidi ritorni sull’investimento del cliente”.

La validità della firma grafometrica è peraltro testimoniata dal fatto che, all’estero, è già adottata da primari istituti di credito, società di credito al consumo, compagnie assicurative, operatori di telecomunicazioni e autorità pubbliche.

“Anche in Italia si sono già mossi i primi passi, con la recente adozione di una nostra soluzione di firma grafometrica da parte di una importante realtà economica nazionale per un progetto di vasto respiro – commenta Gerald Cäsar, CEO e Managing Partner di Xyzmo SIGNificant – Siamo convinti che la nuova partnership con Intesi Group, azienda leader nelle soluzioni di firma digitale, sicurezza e dematerializzazione documentale in Italia, possa accelerare la diffusione della firma grafometrica e contribuire a rafforzare la nostra presenza in una delle più rilevanti economie europee”. 

Intesi Group

Intesi Group SpA è un’azienda italiana operante nell’Information & Communication Technology con specializzazione in prodotti e servizi di Firma Digitale e Application & Service Management.

Società privata e interamente autofinanziata, Intesi Group è – dal 1998, anno di costituzione – in costante e rapida crescita, con un fatturato 2011 di 8,4 milioni di euro e oltre 100 professionisti altamente qualificati e costantemente orientati all’innovazione nell’ideazione e realizzazione di soluzioni all’avanguardia.