Bitcoin Global News (BGN)
July 23, 2018 -- ADVFN Crypto NewsWire -- When the first iPhone came out, some of us
thought our phones could not possibly get much more
innovative.
Then came Bitcoin and the
Blockchain.
According to a report from Marketwatch that came
out on July 11th, Blockchain tech will soon have a momentous effect
on the overall telecommunications industry, to the tune of around a
billion dollars in growth.
So does this mean we will all be
using Blockchain phones in the near future?
The easy answer is not exactly, not
until we understand them and their true potential. Related to this,
reports have been coming out about HTC and other, smaller firms,
working on what have been termed “Blockchain-powered” smart
phones.
Despite the existence of these
reports, what isn’t quite clear is exactly how the Blockchain could
possibly change our current phones for the better.
HTC, which is one of the biggest
cell phone companies in the world, has been hemorrhaging money for
years and yet, they are planning to move towards possibly being the
first mover with regards to selling Blockchain-powered
phones.
With their current market share
sitting around 1% and still
falling, logical questions arise such as: is the Blockchain a
viable innovation in the space or is this merely a desperate
attempt by a slumping company to try to stay relevant?
Judging by HTC’s example with its
interestingly named “Exodus,” some of the principal
advantages of owning a Blockchain phone include the ability to
easily access a large group of Blockchain networks, as well as
increased security to the point that customers own all of their
data.
Inside of this idea of individual
data ownership are the provisions that customers will be the only
ones who have access to their browsing history as well as any
information related to their finances and overall
identities.
It can be assumed, given what we
know about Blockchains, that the way this will work is that each
phone will be an individual node on one or more Blockchain
networks, instead of an individual node on a public cell phone
network.
One possible issue with making such
an assumption is that HTC is, by definition, a traditional cell
phone company that is required to keep certain pieces of customer
data available for authorities to access.
Knowing this, it is logical to
wonder how they might still be able to follow through on their
promise to provide individual data ownership. As of now, it would
be nearly impossible to deduce an answer to this question as the
Exodus is not out on the market yet.
It is, however, already in
development and it will be released, later this year.
With regards to similar projects,
even though HTC is not the first telecommunications company to
attempt to launch a Blockchain phone, it is the first to still be
going down the same road without controversy.
Sirin Labs, a small Blockchain
firm which many consider to be the first mover in this particular
niche, has recently been accused of some sort of wrong doing, back
in 2017, during their ICO. On the other hand, most of the press on
the subject has already been taken down and according to Sirin
spokespeople on Reddit, the accusers are
merely publicity seekers, with the aim of launching false class
action lawsuits.
Whatever the case, up to this
point, HTC’s offering is still unscathed by bad press. With the
preliminary price point set at $1000 per phone, it will be truly
interesting to see if they can garner enough success to justify
this endeavor.
In the end, if they succeed, HTC
and others who are interested in similar ideas might truly begin to
realize their shared goal of escaping the red ocean of the mobile
phone space and creating an entirely new industry niche in the
process.
By: BGN Editorial Staff
News:
Blockchain
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