HTC One M9 Plus leaks in new promotional materials.

FPCs försäljning högre än väntat.

STOCKHOLM (Direkt) Ett antal order med kort ledtid bidrog till att Fingerprint Cards försäljning första kvartalet blev högre än väntat.

"Det kommer in order hela tiden. Normalt har vi långa ledtider i våra leveranser, men ibland kommer det in order på det vi har i lager som vi kan exekvera direkt", uppger Fingerprint Cards vd Jörgen Lantto till Nyhetsbyrån Direkt.

Preliminärt bedöms första kvartalets försäljning nu uppgå till drygt 125 miljoner kronor, vilket är högre än den tidigare prognosen om en försäljning i linje med de 105 miljoner kronor som redovisades det fjärde kvartalet 2014.

Den här utvecklingen ändrar inget vad gäller Fingerprint Cards förväntningar om utvecklingen för hela 2015 och den tidigare prognosen om en försäljning som överstiger 1 miljard kronor.

"Det här ingår i prognosen om att vi ska sälja för en miljard, sedan kom den här försäljningen lite överraskande snabbt under första kvartalet. Vi har sagt att helåret kommer att bli baktungt och att försäljningen det andra halvåret blir större än under första halvåret", säger Jörgen Lantto.

Han står också fast vid att försäljningen väntas öka successivt kvartal för kvartal under året, utan att vilja bryta ned det exakt för de enskilda kvartalen.

"Vi har gått ut med tre stora order på ganska kort tid och de avser leveranser under både andra och tredje kvartalet", säger han.

De tre större order som FPC fått de senaste veckorna på touchsensorer har varit till kinesiska telefonleverantörer och avser alltså inte leveranser till sydkoreanska Samsung. Jörgen Lantto vill inte kommentera om planer på att leverera till Samsung ingår i bolagets försäljningsprognos för 2015.

"Samsung står för omkring 20 procent av smartphonemarknaden och Apple står för omkring 20 procent. Apple är inte med i vår adresserbara marknad. Det finns inget som säger att övriga leverantörer inte ska använda fingeravtryckssensorer. Marknaden är stor att adressera med eller utan Samsung", säger han.

Vad gäller lönsamheten upprepar Fingerprint Cards att rörelseresultatet för första kvartalet bedöms bli negativt. Liksom tidigare avstår Jörgen Lantto från att lämna någon prognos om när lönsamhet kan nås.

"Det enda jag har sagt är att givet att vi når 1 miljard i årsomsättning kommer vi att gå med vinst för helåret, men exakt när det kommer att ske vill jag inte kommentera", säger han.

Fia Forsman +46 8 5191 7923
Nyhetsbyrån Direkt

Asus targets 30M smartphone sales in 2015.

The Asus Zenfone 2 range was officially launched in China less than a fortnight ago, Europe followedclosely, and the Indian market is scheduled for an April 13 release. With such global expansion and given the high popularity of the range it comes as no surprise that the company is now aiming at a whopping 30 million units sold throughout 2015.

The ambitious figure was revealed by Asustek chairman Jonney Shih himself in Chinese media. The Chinese market is key in reaching the company's goal, with 10 million projected smartphone sales there alone. It's however only a small chip of a market so vast - China witnessed the shipment of 389 million smartphones last year.

The company had more modest expectations in February when a 17M target was quoted, which then climbed to 25M towards the smartphones' launch in Taiwan in the beginning of March. That said, you should be impressed to learn that in the entire first quarter of 2014 Asus sold a grand total of 10,000 smartphones. The number exploded to 1.5 million in Q4 though, so the 30 million mark may not be that elusive.

The Kia concept with a fingerprint scanner.

Kia has unveiled a fastback concept at the 2015 Seoul Motor Show aimed at 'modern urbanites' who lead frantic, stressful lives.

The Kia Novo has a coupe silhouette, fastback roofline and a short front overhang for a sporty look. It gets its name from the Latin word 'novatus', which happens to be the origin of the English word 'innovate'.

The front end features a more imposing version of Kia's tiger-nose grille, which sits between laser headlamps and air intakes with even more laser headlamp action. At the back are triangular exhausts to help make the car look wider.

Rear-hinged doors keep the car's dramatic lines clean and allow for just a centrally-located pop-out handle. Diamond-cut alloy wheels with a two-tone carbon and silver finish compliment a strangely fetching silvery green paintjob.

The interior theme is one of calm hence a minimalist space comprised dark brown leather seats and a leather and aluminium dashboard. An instrument binnacle that uses a three-dimensional hologram display provides the driver with useful information.

A touchpad next to the steering wheel acts as a fingerprint scanner for setting up the car exactly how each driver likes it. This includes adjusting audio volume, the type of information displayed on a central wide touchscreen display and even the type of music played.

Underneath the bonnet is a 1.6T-GDI turbo diesel mated to a seven-speed DCT automatic that sends power to the front wheels. No word on performance or efficiency figures, but Kia claims the Novo would be efficient.

Special 20-inch tyres with two thin contact points are said to reduce rolling resistance, improve fuel economy and keep road noise down to a minimum while providing plenty of grip in the corners.

There are 'no plans' to bring the Novo to production, but Kia admitted it provides a glimpse into future models, adding that it has a history of delivering production vehicles true to their concepts.

Previous Kia concepts include the Stinger GT4 and the Sportspace seen at the 2015 Geneva Motor Show.

Kia Novo concept pictures

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LG G4 cases reveal new details about LG’s 2015 flagship.

The LG G4 is one of the last big flagship phones to be revealed this year, with LG choosing to stagger their release behind rivals like Samsung and HTC. However, enterprising case-makers Verus have done their part to unveil the shroud. This week, they released rendered photos of LG G4 cases, showing off new details of the phone.

The renders show the LG G4 with a subtly curved body; much less noticeable than on the dedicated LG G Flex and G Flex 2. The G4 also appears to include a biometric sensor within the phone’s rear-mounted power and volume buttons. The screen size seems to match that given on a recent GFXBench result: 5.5 inches at 2560 x 1440 resolution. Other specifications from that benchmark include a hexa-core Snapdragon 808 processor, 3GB of RAM, 32GB of storage and 16/8-megapixel cameras.

The phone’s dimensions and capabilities seem commensurate with what has been leaked elsewhere before, and it’s unclear whether Verus were shown the G4 before its official announcement or if instead they are using the same leaked materials that we’ve seen before.

Regardless, the photos look authentic and could well align with the finished product, which is scheduled to launch on April 28th. Verus previously showed accurate photos of the Galaxy S6 before its release, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Korean case-maker once again dish on its fellow countrymen.

What do you think of the leaked LG G4? Let us know in the comments below or write to us on Twitter @mobilefun!

By William Judd.

Huawei P8 Retail Packaging Teased By The Company.

Huawei hasn’t launched that many devices in 2015, but we’re seeing more and more leaks and rumors regarding this company’s products lately. As you all probably know by now, Huawei has launched the company’s first Android Wear-powered smartwatch during MWC, the Huawei Watch. Yesterday we’ve seen some leaked images and details regarding Huawei’s upcoming Honor Cherry device, and now we have some more Huawei P8 details to share with you, read on.

This China-based smartphone OEM will unveil their new flagship, Huawei P8, on April 15th in London. The event has been scheduled and leaks just keep on coming. Some new images of the device itself surfaced again, same goes for the retail packaging, and even the alleged price has been mentioned in several rumors. If you take a look at the gallery down below, you’ll see three new leaked renders of the Huawei P8. Neither of those images is showing the whole device, but you get to see its camera and dual-LED flash, chamfered edges on the side, power / lock button and volume rockers. According to the latest rumors, that power button might double as a fingerprint scanner. These new renders once again confirm that the device will sport a premium metal build, and chamfered edges are on board as well.

The fourth image in the gallery is actually an official one. Huawei has posted this image via the company’s official Weibo (Chinese social network) page, and it seems like this will be the device’s official retail packaging. We’re not sure, of course, but it sure seems like it. The last piece of information that we have to share today is this device’s alleged price. According to the rumors, the device will be available a week after its launch, April 22nd, and will cost 2,999 Yuan ($484).

According to previous information from TENAA (China’s equivalent to the FCC), the device sport a 5.2-inch 1080p (1920 x 1080) display along with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of expandable internal storage. Huawei’s very own HiSilicon Kirin 930 64-bit octa-core processor will power on this device, and you can also expect Android 5.0 Lollipop to come pre-installed here with Huawei’s Emotion UI on top of it. The 13-megapixel camera will be located on the back of this device along with a dual-LED flash.

New Huawei P8 pictures snapped.

Huawei P8

On April 15th, Huawei is expected to unveil the Huawei P8. Two versions will be presented. One is made with aluminum alloy and the other will use zirconia ceramic. The P8 will feature a 5.2-inch screen with a 1080 x 1920 resolution. Under the hood is an octa-core Kirin 930 CPU with 3GB of RAM inside. 32GB of native storage is on board and a microSD slot allows for extra memory if needed. A 13MP camera is on back while the 8MP snapper in front handles selfies and video chats. A 3000mAh battery powers up the handset.

The Huawei P8 Lite will include a 5-inch screen with a resolution of 720 x 1280. A 1.2GHz Kirin 620 processor powers the model, with 2GB of RAM inside and 16GB of native storage. A 13MP camera is on back with a 5MP camera on front. Pricing and availability for the P8 Lite is unknown at this time.

Returning to the Huawei P8, the phone is expected to be released on April 22nd, one week after the unveiling. That phone is priced at the equivalent of $484 USD. We do have a trio of newly snapped photos of the P8 that includes the chamfered edges of the phone, the rear camera and flash, and the side-mounted power button that might have a fingerprint scanner embedded inside. Check them out by clicking on the slideshow below.