HTC launched a Blockchain Smartphone— Exodus 1
HTC a Taiwan based mobile phone manufacturer shocked the cryptocurrency and blockchain industry with the introduction of a blockchain-based smartphone, Exodus 1. HTC made it known that the mobile device is designed to secure the registered owner’s cryptocurrencies. Sales started on 23rd of October 2018.
HTC is Hoping to Regain its Market Share
The development of the mobile device by HTC has been described as part of the mobile giant’s plans to prioritize software and intellectual property. HTC with has been around for quite a while, and has lost most of its market shares to manufacturers such as Apple and Samsung, over the past few years is hoping to regain some of it with this new development.
The Exodus 1 has been described to incorporate a hardware cryptocurrency wallet which is completely separated from the phone’s Android operating system. Therefore, the Exodus 1 can be seen as a smartphone, but also a cryptocurrency hardware wallet.
How it Works
In a recent report, the decentralized chief officer of HTC, Phil Chen explained how the mobile device works. He stated that:
“Think of it as a micro OS that runs in parallel with Android. It basically is a wallet, but the wallet, what it does is hold your private keys. These private keys are meant to be kept confidential, and are needed whenever a user wants to access their Bitcoins or other cryptocurrencies”
As regards the separation from the Android software, Chen explained:
“Android is fundamentally insecure, so storing cryptocurrency within the Android environment would put the cryptocurrencies at high risk.”
Based on the report, it was also made known that the new phone— Exodus 1, will run DApps (digital programs that operate on the blockchain). The phone is also equipped with a “Social Key Recovery”. This helps with regaining access to the mobile device in case of a lost private key.
As regards the blockchain feature of the mobile phone and the reason behind the development of the device. Chen made it known that:
“The dominant companies in our world today are Google and Facebook, and in China, Baidu, Alibaba, and Tencent, because they basically own all our data. And the reason why you do a blockchain phone is for everybody just to own their own keys. Everything starts there. When you start owning your own keys, then you can start owning your own digital identity, then you can start to own data.”
