It was only a matter of time before a mobile phone would incorporate crypto. Now, with announcements of and , is officially making its mark on one of world’s most accessible consumer markets.
At first glance, the world and mobile phones seem like an obvious match. Just as technology promises to bridge together gaps in financial infrastructure, smartphones can be the vehicle through which this finally becomes a reality. If accessibility was the main problem of crypto previously, these recent announcements by Samsung and HTC are sure to make a splash.
South Korean tech giant Samsung that they would be incorporating technology into its flagship Galaxy S10 phone. This exciting was unveiled at their Mobile Business Summit session at MWC Barcelona this week.
The announcement made clear two additions to the future Galaxy S10 where would play a prominent role. The two special partnerships to this end would involve , as part of the Cosmochain crypto project, and Enjin. Although has yet to confirm the partnership, Cosmee has made clear that the partnership is real.
Cosmee is a ecosystem connected to the industry. Reviewers are incentivised to post reviews to receive payment in their native , COSM. With the Galaxy S10, users will be able to directly their COSM on their phones.
Another logo which appeared in Samsung’s presentation is Enjin’s. Although the details are still forthcoming, the partnership seems clear. Enjin (ENJ) is a project targeting the gaming industry, allowing companies to build -based games. Their ecosystem will include video games — from MMOs to MOBAs to full-scale gaming multiverses — along with DApp games, eSports, and various reward packages.
Native and Wallets within Knox
The official Samsung will also feature a and along with support for ENJ and COSM . The will be secure with the help of , Samsung’s own defence-grade security platform. Knox utilises a digital infrastructure known as Trustzone, which is composed of key-storing, real-time protection, and attestation. The infrastructure was developed for “highly sensitive computations,” as is necessary for the crypto world.
By incorporating into their new Galaxy S10, Samsung has made a one of the most visible moves out of any major telecomm company to support the space.
The message they are sending is clear: not only is and here to stay, but Samsung expects to be on the cutting edge of this technological revolution.
The HTC Exodus 1
Samsung, however, isn’t the only mobile phone coming to the market with a -friendly approach.
Although many initially brushed off HTC’s new Exodus 1 phone when it was announced last year, HTC has stuck by their in stressing their commitment to the device. HTC’s decentralised chief office and head of the HTC Exodus 1 project, Phil Chen, has admitted that the initial rollout of the phone was “rocky.” However, this was largely due to the fact that there was some hard problems to grapple with initially.
Although the crypto community might not fully get it now, “the real developers in the space understand we are playing in a critical role in this ecosystem,”
Recently, the HTC 1 has come on the market for $699 after initially only being available to be bought with or ETH. The company also announced a partnership with Opera to better its APIs to provide boosted security for the phone’s crypto wallets. This integration will allow users to interact, transact with, and login to services directly with their private key. In doing so, the HTC 1 is bridging the gap between micropayments and online content providers — and is one of the earliest examples of this being put into practise.
Of course, the goal of the HTC 1 is ambitious. After all, they are looking to hasten the decentralised web which inevitably will affect a wide range of industries. It will also provide for more transparency, and rid many of the middlemen who previously benefitted from content creation.
Chen is positive, but wouldn’t comment if a 2.0 device for the HTC 1 was in production just yet. For now, the HTC 1 is about building a developer community. Software developer kits for the phone are expected to be unveiled in the coming months which will allow developers to directly work to create dApps for the phone. For Chen, “it’s not about the hype… it’s about building real innovation in technology.”
What It All Means
Crypto has always struggled in its application; it is a complex process to safely guard keys, maintain multiple wallets and manage interactions across disparate protocols. Mainstream will remain stifled until the underlying technology is abstracted into a UX that users are familiar with.
Although the HTC 1 was the first -based phone to come on the market, Samsung is now the second major telecomm company to enter this new marketplace. And there is indication that more may be coming. As companies realise the potential in consumers using , the demand will inevitably increase over time. Although we are still in the early stages of such a revolution, the introduction of borderless financing through could make smartphones the perfect vehicles for .
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Published at Fri, 01 Mar 2019 12:10:54 +0000
