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As of March 2016, an Israeli startup called Sirin Labs unveiled the premium Solarin smartphone focused on privacy. The socket? The device would cost a hefty $ 14,000 – a bit outside the price range of the average consumer.
Next of almost three years and Solarin is not there anymore. Sirin Labs actually announced a turning point in March 2017, revealing that it would be necessary to liquidate Solarin to focus on a new mass market device. This turned out to be a blockchain smartphone called Finney, and the company continued to raise more than $ 150 million through an initial offer of coins (ICO) to bring the device to market.
Finney opened for pre-orders in November and yesterday saw the official and complete launch of the $ 999 Finney smartphone, which will begin shipping this week to those who had previously ordered it. Next to this launch is a completely renovated Sirin Labs store – which also opened yesterday. It will not only sell Finney, but will serve as a point of reference for London's crypto enthusiasts.
The opening of a second store in Tokyo is planned, while others will be launched in collaboration with local dealers in other markets, including one in New York.
Sirin Labs' decision to launch its first retail store in London is partly due to the city's cryptic community, but it is also partly due to the position of the British capital as one of Europe's leading technology hubs.
"London is different, creative and a thriving technology center," noted Kenes Rakishev, president of Sirin Labs. "In 2018, the technology industry in London attracted much more investment than other European centers, raising over £ 1.8 billion, making it the premier location for Finney, the world's first mass-market blockchain phone to sell ".
Inside the world's first blockchain smartphone store
The Sirin Labs shop is located in Bruton Place, in the busy Mayfair district of London.
Above: Sirin Labs: Fincha blockchain smartphone shop
Image credit: Paul Sawers / VentureBeat
Above: the Sirin Labs retail store for Finney's smartphone blockchain
Image credit: Paul Sawers / VentureBeat
Above: the Sirin Labs outlet will show (and sell) the Finney smartphone
The store will be used to show – and sell – the Finney smartphone.
Above: the Sirin Labs outlet will show (and sell) the Finney smartphone
Image credit: Paul Sawers / VentureBeat
It also sells smartphone accessories from Sirin Labs own brand, such as dongles and cables …
Above: Sirin Labs will sell smartphone accessories
Image credit: Paul Sawers / VentureBeat
… as well as clothes, including hooded sweatshirts, t-shirts and hats.
Above: Sirin Labs will sell designer clothes including sweatshirts and hats
Image credit: Paul Sawers / VentureBeat
Bitcoin at the blockchain
While Bitcoin's cryptocurrency has given birth to the blockchain, the underlying "decentralized" technology is emerging in all types of industries, from identity verification and car-sharing to royalties with rights holders on music streaming platforms. . However, the blockchain is still a nascent technology, and for now its predominant use cases continue to carry out anonymous and secure online transactions. This, in fact, is what Finney is.
The phone was assembled by FIH Mobile of Taiwan, which also builds Apple's iPhone, and has decent specifications, including the latest Snapdragon 845 processor, a 6-inch screen, 128GB of built-in memory ( expandable), 6 GB of RAM, a 3.280 mAh battery, rear fingerprint sensor and 12 MP / 8 MP front and rear cameras. The main purpose of Finney, however, is to handle ultra-secure transactions enabled through an integrated cold-cell cryptocurrency collector that activates whenever a small secondary "security screen" is ejected from the back.
Above: Sirin Labs: Finney's phone in operation
Image credit: Paul Sawers / VentureBeat
This portfolio is a hardware component completely separate from the main device and is designed to protect private keys and generate and sign blockchain transactions. Only a native wallet connected to the Internet accesses the phone when a transaction is initiated by the user.
Above: Sirin Labs: Finney's phone in operation
Image credit: Paul Sawers / VentureBeat
Users can create and maintain multiple cryptocurrency portfolios on Finney and also have a token conversion service (TCS) that allows users to convert between various cryptocurrencies – including Bitcoin, Ethereum and their own Sirin Labs Token (SRN).
Above: token conversion service
Maintaining the blockchain theme, Sirin Labs is focusing on its own special app store for decentralized apps, called "dApps". Here, developers of cryptocurrency and third-party blockchain apps show their work and pay users (in cryptocurrency) for learning and interacting with their apps.
Above: Finney: dApps
Image credit: Paul Sawers / VentureBeat
Similar to the expensive Solarin phone, Finney is powered by Sirin OS, which is launched as a super-secure Android-based operating system. This is what supports its secure technology, but it is also what promises greater security for the device in general – even when the cold storage portfolio is not used. In fact, the phone sports an intrusion prevention system (IPS) that promises to protect users from online and device-based cyber attacks, network attacks, host-based attacks and more.
In addition, Finney includes a number of pre-installed privacy apps, such as the ProtonMail encrypted email service.
Interestingly, Sirin Labs is also discussing authorizing its Sirin operating system to other mobile phone manufacturers, but was not free to reveal specific details about VentureBeat.
Initial thoughts
Above: Finney GIF
Based on our short time with the phone, Finney feels very much like a premium but niche device – it is marketed primarily on its blockchain and cryptocurrency credentials, with little attention to other important aspects, such as battery life, quick charge functionality, AI-infusion camera, and all the other things people are looking for in their phones today.
This does not mean that the phone fails on those fronts, but it is difficult to know at first glance what else offers, because everything screams blockchain. The device specifications are somewhat hidden in the Sirin Labs website, but claims to fully recharge from flat in two hours and 50% in half an hour. The camera software looks pretty simple and does not offer filters or fancy effects, but that's fine; the target market for this phone has specific concerns. If it comes to blockchain and cybersecurity, Finney might be worth giving a look – but if funky City of sinthe effects of color isolation in style are your passion, you'd better look elsewhere.
"From now on, our trusted community and our customers all over the world can go anywhere in the world with a smartphone that meets their high-level security needs with a smartphone that has token holders in mind." , added the co-CEO of Sirin Labs Zvi Landau. "We are now proudly selling a flagship device in our store and through our partners, [and] we can provide a device that gives users the experience we imagined when we started creating the Sirin operating system. "
It is worth noting that HTC is also marketing a blockchain phone, Exodus 1, but at the moment it is only available as part of an early access program that provides for payment with cryptocurrency. Just two blockchain phones to suggest that here is something bigger, but perhaps not enough to indicate that it will become a big trend in the realm of mobile phones.
