Importance

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Abstract

A portable telecommunication device includes a radio transceiver within a portable housing, a fingerprint sensor carried by the housing, and an authorizing feature for permitting use of the radio transceiver based upon the fingerprint sensor sensing a fingerprint of an authorized user. The authorizing may be performed locally or based upon a remote authorization signal. The portable telecommunication device may be cellular telephone. Accordingly, unauthorized users may not be permitted to use the cellular telephone and accumulate charges without the owner's consent. The invention may also be used with law enforcement or other telecommunications devices, for example, where it is desired to prevent reception or transmission on designated bands by unauthorized users. The device may also include a user identification feature for transmitting a user identification signal to a remote device based upon a sensed fingerprint. The portable telecommunication device may operate with one or both of audio and data signals. The portable telecommunication device is preferably based upon a lightweight and reliable integrated circuit fingerprint sensor. This integrated circuit may include a substrate, and at least one electrically conductive layer adjacent the substrate and comprising portions defining an array of electric field sensing electrodes. The at least one electrically conductive layer may further comprise portions defining a respective shield electrode for each electric field sensing electrode.

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First Claim