Blockchain powered cellphones...the FUTURE?
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January 3, 2009...the first block of Bitcoin was mined, the “Genesis Block” with a reward of 50 Bitcoins...and it started a digital revolution that has lasted until today; unstoppable, has no time to finish. Today we can find ourselves diving into the blockchains sea where we can find well stablished prehistorical monsters like Bitcoin and Ethereum as well as new fishes trying to find their place in that vast ocean deeply explored and, paradoxically, also quite unexplored.
Different blockchains have different use cases, going from a wide range of possibilities: Store of Value, Descentralized Apps Development, Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things, Device Tracking, Quality Control, Data Authenticity Management, Supply Chains...and many, many more. Today we can take advantage of the descentralized concept even to keep our private data as “real private” in a world where monetization of personal data has become an everyday thing and big players like Facebook and Twitter seize your data in exchange for a “free” service to the world.
Descentralization concept is something developers and device manufacturers want to apply to help us to recover our privacy. We have DAPPS (Descentralized Apps) mimic the same behaviour as Facebook and Twitter but running completely descentralized over a given blockchain where you own your data and everything you say or post is recorded forever...Now, developers and techie guys wants to go one step further in descentralization development and are integrating those descentralized apps into our cellphones and even more: they want to offer us cellphones completely integrated into a given blockchain where even call and SMS services work descentralized!! **:o**
What are blockchain powerd cellphones?...Do i need one?
Blockchain powered cellphones are intended to be the gateway to Web 3.0 or descentralized web. In this future version of the internet, blockchains and similar technologies would support decentralized applications that look and feel like the mobile apps we use today but run on public, peer-to-peer networks instead of private servers.
It is widely know that one major impediment to mainstream adoption of cryptocurrency and dapps in everyday life is that these technologies are too difficult to use for regular people. Better user experiences, simplified key management and full blockchain services integrations in a friendly and simplified environment could change the way people see and value cryptocurrency and dapps.
If techie guys all over the world would like to choose some kind of technology from which all could be started...that technology must be an already accepted and widely used technology giving easy access to everyone...and that technology already existed: cellphones!! The same way blockchain history started with Bitcoin first block mined, the history of Web 3.0 would start with our old friends being modified...our beloved cellphones. :)
Fig 1. Our cell phones were the chosen entry point for the next general adoption of Web 3.0
Blockchain cellphones are not brand new as we would expect. Do not get me wrong: they're new as real gadgets but old as an idea. The first ideas about integrating blockchain services in a native way into our cellphones comes from a few years ago; but only recently those ideas have been able to be brought to life when tech giants like HTC and Samsung have realized about the huge power of descentralization for the future and as pioneers, they have shown some interest into integrating those services in some of their phones.
The first company designing a blockchain powered cellphone was HTC. Phil Chen is the decentralized chief officer at HTC and explained in early days that “the idea behind these phones stemmed from the fact that people didn’t own their digital data and had no digital identities, being observed and their data collected and sell in exchange for free access to some services” (like some Social Media sites)...that needs to be changed...
Fig 2. *Phil Chen, Decentralized Chief Officer at HTC Headquarters (https://www.cnbc.com)*
Since then several companies around the world, like Samsung, have integrated natively, support for some Dapps like crypto wallets on some models of cellphones they produced. The idea of having a full degree of anonymity, preserving all your personal information privately and your keys in your phone while keeping the regular services like Call and SMS texting all together in your phone is very interesting and promising in a short term, so big companies will start investing in this area really soon but some of them have already invested.
Samsung Galaxy S10 includes a secure storage system for cryptocurrency private keys(Samsung Blockchain Wallet), allowing users send and receive securely all major and non-major cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, ERC20, Tron and more. It allows even to take look at the world of DApps, allowing users to browse and explore a growing ecosystem of the latest blockchain-based fintech, social media and health DApps.
What's more...S10 users adding XWallet(Pundi X Crypto Wallet) to the Samsung Blockchain Wallet will be able to move cryptocurrencies between the two apps in the same phone. This is a clear example of two rival manufacturers of blockchain smartphones, Samsung and Pundi X, benefiting of working together on crypto adoption.
Fig 3. Samsung Galaxy S10 includes a Blockchain Wallet and a DApps explorer(https://news.samsung.com)
HTC joined the party with its Exodus 1, which is an Android phone with a secure enclave that allows you to keep possession of your own keys, and potentially your own data. It’s effectively an Android phone like any other with all the same functionality, but it has one additional locked area that’s protected from Android’s insecurities.
One step ahead, Exodus 1s allow users even to mine cryptocurrency (it isn't going to make you rich, in case you wonder :) ). HTC said that this is officially the only mobile phone till today that can run a full Bitcoin node, allowing it to propagate transactions and blocks anywhere.
Fig 4. HTC Exodus 1s, a phone being able to run a full Bitcoin node according to its developers at HTC (https://www.muycomputerpro.com)
Finally we have Sirin Labs and Electroneum. The first build the Finney cellphone(and a whole ecosystem around their bussiness). Finney is a blockchain powered smartphone having a cold crypto wallet and a DApp explorer; all powered by their propietary operating system(SIRIN OS) and they even have a token (SRN Token) allowing their users to directly purchase products and services from SIRIN LABS.
Electroneum, more focused on cheap and affordable solutions to bring the crypto world even closer to their clients, began selling an $80 Android phone that can mine cryptocurrency(ETN).
Fig 5. Electroneum M1: you can mine cryptocurrency! (https://newslogical.com)
We should mention apart Pundi X's blockchain powered cellphone. This cellphone is called “BOB” which stands for “Blok on Blok” and it is the world's first modular blockchain powered smartphone. Running two operative systems over one single hardware, it allows users to switch between PundiX’s blockchain OS, which powers the decentralized services, and Android.
It will also be customizable. PundiX says the phone will come with a “MOD Assembly Kit,” with detachable parts that allow buyers to modify the device’s external look. We must note that BOB runs on Function X OS, which is an open-source operating system and it uses at full the blockchain ecosystem. This means that every task on the phone, be it sending texts, making calls, browsing the web, and file sharing, all happen on a decentralized network, making it highly encrypted and thus secure. If you do not want to use the full blockchain functionality, you can always switch to a beautiful Android 9.0 Pie in the traditional mode. Each unit of the BOB is a node that supports the entire Function X blockchain system. :)
Fig 6. Meet BOB! (https://www.tokenpost.com)
Having a blockchain powered smartphone have some advantages indeed, like having better security, more portability for crypto owners(because the hardware wallets are installed in the device, natively) and better DApp access, not to speak about the privacy we can have because we will be able to own our own data and secure our transactions directly from our device, storing our personal keys just in there...AMAZING!!!
But, as everything in the world, having our keys stored inside our own device have some drawbacks too. :(
What happen if I lose my phone or it gets stolen or irreparably damaged? Your keys, and possibly eventually your digital data, are physically stored on that device. Unless you plan carefully, you can lose much more than just the value of the phone and a few contacts. With a normal phone you can call Google or Apple and run through a recovery process to get the keys to your account back, which will at least restore the data you backed up....but that's impossible with some blockchain powered smartphones.
That why some companies like HTC are developing something called Social Key Recovery. Employing a well-known algorithm for sharing, the mechanism splits your key into five different parts, so you can share it among your family and close friends. When you lose your phone, you can call up three out of the five friends to recover it.
Final thougths...by now
No matter what, blockchain technologies have begun to explode into the smartphones world. Companies are trying to introduce, in a smooth and easy way, the blockchain world and its advantages to their user base and i guess they will succeed, because the people are hungry for new ways to communicate and collaborate with each other, but only for new secure ways to do that, ways allowing the final user the freedom to choose, the freedom to own and the freedom to offer and even to sell if they want it to.
Blockchain powered cellphones will be the entry point to a massive cryptocurrency adoption in a near future if companies can be able to bring cheaper and reliable devices to the people.
So, do i need one? Only you can answer that question. If you value your privacy and want to start living today the world of tomorrow maybe you should need to take a closer look to some candidates. To be honest you can have several things blockchain cellphones offer to you just in a regular phone only by installing some apps to your operative system. But there's no doubt that having one gadget which natively support blockchain functions will bring you closer to the experience of living the Web 3.0 from another perspective...so, finally: is up to you!!
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