Solana (SOL)’s new crypto-native phone that will likely be developed by the little-known smartphone maker Osom is way from the primary ‘blockchain cellphone’ to be introduced since crypto and blockchain expertise took a large step into the mainstream round 2017. However what precisely occurred to all these different telephones, and did the producers ship on their guarantees?
To search out out, we dug up stories of blockchain telephones courting again to 2018 and appeared on the standing of those initiatives at present.
Sirin Labs’ Finney cellphone
Among the many first corporations to announce a purpose-made blockchain cellphone was Switzerland-based Sirin Labs with its Finney phone, named after the late cryptographer and Bitcoin (BTC) pioneer Hal Finney.
The corporate itself acquired its funding by way of the fourth largest preliminary coin providing (ICO) of 2017, having raised USD 157.8m from the sale of its SRN token.
And though the worth of the token has collapsed from a peak of USD 3.5 in 2018 to principally zero at present, the Finney cellphone was made and nonetheless stays on the market within the Sirin Shop.
Furthermore, the Sirin Labs as just lately as June 2021 launched an up to date model of its cellphone often called Sirin V3, per a tweet from the corporate.
Pundi X’s XPhone
The xPhone was a smartphone deliberate by Pundi X, a crypto funds agency based mostly in Singapore.
Among the many merchandise that Pundi X has delivered is XPOS, a tool the corporate on its LinkedIn page says is the “world’s first point-of-sale resolution that allows retailers and customers to conduct in-store transactions immediately on the blockchain.”
The corporate’s smartphone, nonetheless, seems to be a useless venture, with little info to be discovered for the reason that initial announcement in 2018.
In response to the announcement on the time, the xPhone was speculated to work with out a provider by routing information by way of blockchain nodes. “In contrast to conventional telephones which require a centralized cellular provider, XPhone runs independently with out the necessity for that,” the weblog put up mentioned.
Cryptonews.com reached out to Pundi X to be taught in regards to the standing of the venture however has not heard again.
HTC Exodus
In 2018, the smartphone maker HTC announced its venture into crypto with its Exodus cellphone, which reportedly may double as a crypto {hardware} pockets. The cellphone was additionally reported to return with a separate micro working system operating parallel with Android, made by SoftBank‘s Arm Holdings, to maintain clients’ crypto protected.
In 2020, the corporate took the venture one step additional by enabling Monero (XMR) mining on the phone by way of a partnership with the ASIC chip design firm Midas Labs.
The Exodus cellphone is among the many ‘crypto telephones’ which have made it, and the cellphone stays on the market to at the present time through a devoted website.
LG’s blockchain cellphone
The main electronics firm LG was additionally among the many corporations that within the wake of the 2017 bull market needed to safe its share of the rising blockchain business with a devoted smartphone.
In 2019, the corporate confirmed earlier rumors that it was working on a blockchain-powered phone, saying that such a cellphone was certainly into consideration.
Quick-forward to 2021, nonetheless, the corporate, which lengthy had struggled with its smartphone gross sales, mentioned it might depart the smartphone market totally on account of its diminishing market share and the lack of round USD 4.1 billion.
LG has not printed any details about the destiny of the deliberate blockchain cellphone, and the corporate didn’t reply to a request for remark from Cryptonews.com.
Nonetheless, the electronics big has continued to indicate an curiosity in crypto, saying in a statement in March this yr that it has added “the event and promoting of blockchain-based software program” as considered one of its enterprise aims.
Additional, reports earlier this yr even speculated that the corporate might be seeking to begin a crypto trade.
Huobi-affiliated Acute Angle cellphone
One other firm that announced a blockchain phone in 2019 was the crypto trade Huobi in partnership with Entire Community.
In response to stories from 2019, the event of the cellphone, dubbed Acute Angle, can be funded by way of the sale of Entire Community’s NODE tokens on Huobi. Furthermore, the trade additionally promised that clients would be capable to pay for the cellphone utilizing the huobi token (HT).
Nonetheless, there was no info printed by Huobi or its accomplice Entire Community on the standing of the cellphone since 2019. Right now, Entire Community’s website is now not accessible, the corporate’s Twitter account has not shared something since 2019, whereas the newest put up on its Weibo account is from 2020.
In the meantime, the worth of Entire Community’s NODE token has fallen to principally 0, however the token stays tradable on Huobi International.
Cryptonews.com reached out to Entire Community however has not heard again.
Samsung KlaytnPhone
Final on our record is a cellphone from South Korean electronics big Samsung, mentioned to be powered by Kakao subsidiary Ground X’s Klaytn blockchain platform. The cellphone was primarily a particular restricted version of Samsung’s Galaxy Observe 10 phone-tablet (phablet).
In response to preliminary reports about the KlaytnPhone from 2019, the one actual distinction between KlaytnPhone and a daily Galaxy Observe 10 is that the previous comes with a crypto pockets and sure blockchain apps put in. As well as, 2,000 KLAY tokens are given to all cellphone clients.
Per the cellphone’s devoted website, KlaytnPhone is “the primary and solely smartphone that provides simple and seamless expertise for customers interacting with iGaming platforms and blockchain-powered providers.” The web site added that the cellphone permits customers to “expertise an all-in-one blockchain ecosystem from token to pockets to blockchain software.”
In response to the identical web site, the KlaytnPhone is barely out there for patrons in South Korea.
Cryptonews.com reached out to the makers of the KlaytnPhone to be taught in regards to the standing of the venture however has but to listen to again.
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Study extra:
– Solana Labs, Smartphone Maker Osom Team up to Unveil Web3-ready Handset
– Pundi X Strikes Deal in Venezuela, Mobile Operator Embraces Crypto Pay
– Huawei’s Latest Smartphone Comes with a CBDC Wallet for Digital Yuan
– Mobile Carrier SK Unveils Samsung-made 5G Phone with Blockchain ID Wallet
– Samsung Unveils New Digital Wallet with ‘Crypto’ and Digital Documentation Capabilities
– Samsung Adds 3rd-Party Crypto Wallet Support
– LG ‘Likely’ to Follow Samsung into Blockchain Phone Market
– Samsung and LG Could Follow SK in Issuing a Cryptoasset – Analysts
– Mining Monero on HTC Exodus 1s is Coming in 3 Months
– How is HTC’s Exodus 1s Cryptophone Different from its Exodus 1