Get It: The new 3-in-1 stereo, biometric security and freestyle sound

November 24, 2000
Web posted at: 5:40 PM HKT (0940 GMT)

By Tinnie Chow
Ebizasia Correspondent

Biometric products from AsiaWebCo
Wary of taking the plunge to shop online? Security on the Internet may be finally ready for the cautious shopper. Biometric technology has been seen on high tech movies such as Mission Impossible 2 and James Bond movies, but never thought to be available for the rest of us. But effective security is now on the fingertips of people in Asia. New devices can read your thumbprint, recognize your voice, and even scan your eyeball. Companies get personal authentication and proof that you have authorized transactions on the World Wide Web. AsiaWebCo is working to bring this biometric 'enabling' technology to a managed network of e-tailers, or an Internet club, so that they can authenticate each transaction with an iris scan, fingerprint or voice recognition device.

Aibo 2 robo-pet from Sony, $HK1500
Asia is embracing the arrival of the newest entertainment robotic pet, the second-generation of Sony's Aibo. It recognizes its own name, can take photos on command and expresses its synthetic emotions and affection with specific moves of its body. By adding some software the Aibo 2 will even show of tricks and take on more customized characteristics.

Kingsmith two-way messenger, from the Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club, about $HK300
Horse racing is a huge attraction in Hong Kong, but it's not really the horses that draw huge crowds...it's the gambling. For many people, perhaps the hardest thing about going to races and placing a bet is the crowds. With the Kingsmith two-way messenger you can place bets without standing in long lines. In fact, you don't even have to be at the race track at all. Hong Kong has the highest total turnover for betting per capita anywhere in the world with more than 1 million of the region's 6 million residents regularly betting on the races, and they wager about $HK150 million every race day. The two-way messenger allows transactions to be taken directly from your account. Your account will be updated instantly as the results of the race roll in. You can get all the race information you need, even odds anywhere.

Comdex: With biometrics, you're the password
Biometrics points to greater security
Combination flat-panel monitor and television promises a lot
Samsung builds TV function into cell phones

Bose Home Audio
AsiaWebCo
Samsung

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.