Blockchain and crypto technology, since their inception have been gradually creeping up in our routine lives, revolutionizing the traditional systems we have long accepted and adhered to. From banking transactions to fundraising, nothing seems to be immune to the effects of the blockchain tech. Now it has expanded further, evolving even the cellphone in its wake. A platform, Sirin Labs, is set to debut its blockchain-enabled mobile phone.

The Swiss firm’s brainchild smart phone, Finney, is set to hit the market in later this year in November. Their ICO crowd sale drew in $157.8 million, which knocks their initial target of $100 million right out of the park.

Finney’s Outlook

The world has already been introduced to the feature pop-up cameras. Instead of a camera, Finney slides up a second display. This 2-inch second display is powered by dedicated firmware that acts as a secure, cold wallet for cryptocurrency.

What is the Cold Wallet?

The second screen or the so- called “Safe Screen” only activates when slid up manually. It is layered with PIN protection and is capable of independently verifying Finney wallet transactions to safeguard users from malware and hackers diverting their tokens to fraudulent parties.

When the screen is closed the cold wallet, which uses its own separate micro-controller unit (MCU), is totally shut down. Your wallet is safe and disconnected from the Internet. The private key is kept in a separate secure zone. So you might want to control the temptation to constantly slide up the second screen. Finney’s cold wallet gives it the wow factor.

Specifications

Despite being blockchain-based, it doesn’t lose out on the specifications that render today’s smartphones successful amongst the users.

The front and rear of the phone is built from 3D Gorilla Glass (grade to be confirmed), with a matte black finish on the rear, and held together by a concave metal frame embedded with two side-firing speakers on either side. However, there’s no room for a traditional 3.5mm headphone jack.

The display is a 6-inch LCD, 18:9, Full HD+ panel (1080 x 2160 resolution) with a notched design and thin (but still noticeable) bezels.

It has a Snapdragon 845 processor with 6GB of RAM at its heart. It offers a 12-megapixel single-lens camera on the back. It even has an 8-megapixel selfie camera. There’s a 3,280mAh battery inside, and 128GB of internal storage space.

A joint effort

In April 2018, it was announced that, FIH Mobile, a subsidiary of Foxconn Technology Group, decided to help in developing this new range of blockchain-enabled mobile phones.

SIRIN LABS is incredibly excited to announce that it has chosen FIH Mobile (Foxconn International Holding) to Manufacture the FINNEY smartphone. With this development, we are taking a huge leap forward to bring the Go Crypto revolution to the mainstream. https://t.co/YvZ1oX4xD4 — SIRIN LABS (@SIRINLABS) April 4, 2018

The Taiwanese-based company is a global leader in the mobile phone business and has assembled cutting edge devices like the iPhone series, the PlayStation series and Kindles. It’s safe to assume that the Finney is in good hands.

What Blockchain Will Finney be Using?

Initially the Finney was cooperating with IOTA in order to create a Sirin Labs native blockchain. Recently however, it was revealed that they have ditched IOTA and chosen another blockchain.

However, there are speculations that the company will be using a private Ethereum blockchain rather than the main chain. Despite its recent cooperation with the Ethereum blockchain, Sirin Labs is emphasizing on the temporary status of this relationship. It will not call Ethereum home forever.

Our plan since the release of our whitepaper, has always been to migrate the SRN token and Sirin Labs ecosystem to a next-generation blockchain.

Said Nimrod May, CMO Sirin Labs However, Sirin Labs native blockchain seems a little far down the road but you never know what Sirin Labs has up its proverbial sleeve.

Sometimes, very rarely, you have a real solid breakthrough. @SIRINLABS just had it. Never been more excited about a project in my life. Things will never be the same again.

Can't wait for the launch. #disruption #SRN — Moshe Hogeg (@moshehogeg) July 27, 2018

An ambassador with high star power

The choice of Ambassador for Sirin Labs is certainly going to pique the interest of Football Fans in the world of crypto. Lionel Messi has been signed as the barns ambassador for the company in order to create more awareness about blockchain technology.

Earlier prospects of Sirin Labs

Sirin Labs was founded earlier in 2014 with an aim to become the world leader in secure, open source consumer electronics, thus bridging the gap between the mass market and the blockchain economy. The company launched their flagship product, in the form of the world’s most secure phone, in May 2016.

In addition to being an ultra-secure smartphone, Solarin was also ultra-expensive, costing a whooping amount of $16,000. The phone however, never really took off partly because the market wasn’t welcoming of expensive phones built on outdated tech. Solarin packed obsolete hardware like the Snapdragon 810 and Android 5.1.

Finney might atone for the Sirin Labs past. It is already not as hard on the pockets as Solarin, costing only $1000. The shipping is to begin by October 2018 as Finney will be available initially in Vietnam and Turkey.