In the era where every industry is planning to explore and renovate their business using the blockchain, the Taiwanese company HTC is all set to launch its blockchain-enabled phone.
Reportedly the HTC Exodus phone is now available for pre-orders and can be bought only through crypto. The price is fixed at 0.15 bitcoin or 4.78 Ethers which comes down to $975 USD for the current value of bitcoin.
Certainly, the actual dollar value will vary as per changing market value of crypto. The company will start shipping the phones by December of this year, so if bitcoin value surges say up to $10,000 USD the cost of mobile would be $1,500 USD.
As published in the press release, the EXODUS 1 is available to customers in the U.S., Hong Kong, Singapore, New Zealand, the U.K., and nearly 30 other countries
Secure hardware for Crypto-Wallets
The question arises as to why HTC targeted this mobile for such a high price. The answer lies in the fact that Exodus comes with secure hardware. In short, it has been developed to operate as a hardware cryptocurrency wallet, allowing users to safely store digital assets in the local wallet of the phone. Indeed its kept protected from the Android operating system.
Also, to protect users who might lose their phone or otherwise forget their keys, HTC has built a “Social Key Recovery” process. Users will be able to designate a few contacts as “trustworthy,” and each contact will be able to download a key management app.
The notable factor to mention here is that it protects the identity of the user and also as highlighted by Phil Chen, HTC’s decentralized chief officer,
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.
Community Support
The HTC company also mentioned the release of early-access version and is open for developers to participate in it. Based on the feedback from the blockchain community about the version, the device will be improved further.
HTC also intends to release application program interfaces (APIs) for third-party developers, allowing them to use the EXODUS 1 to protect keys and sign transactions. Indeed there are plans to push a software development kit (SDK) for its wallet for partners who will help HTC expand its blockchain ecosystem.
Well, what do you think of HTC’s release of their flagship blockchain based phone? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.
