There is a lot of hype surround crypto-friendly smartphones right now, and a lot of it appears to just be media hype to help sell units. However, Electroneum has just announced that it too is joining the race for the ultimate crypto-friendly smartphone and it looks like it could be the winner. Costing a mere $80, it packs a powerful crypto punch that will have you earning the value of the phone back in no time.
Out of the Blue (Electroneum Blue), we have launched the M1, a beautifully affordable phone that pays you back. #electroneum pic.twitter.com/G6IANZ0PH8
— electroneum (@electroneum) 25 February 2019
Appealing to its Key Demographics
You might think $80 for a brand-new smartphone with crypto is a little cheap, but for Electroneum’s key demographic it’s a very fair price. Electroneum is all about helping to bring financial freedom to the masses, meaning it’s targeting people in developing countries who have very limited access to banking. Electroneum is a mobile-based crypto payment system and it dubs itself as the world’s fastest and first AML/KYC compliant cryptocurrency. The price and potential of this phone lines up perfectly with Electroneum’s goals and roadmap.
What’s Under the Hood?
The part we have all been waiting for – the technical aspects of this new smartphone. The Electroneum M1 might not be packing a whole bunch of fancy gadgets and power, but it does have some interesting features. It has dual-sim functionality, 4G connectivity, 8GB of storage as well as front and rear facing cameras – all fairly standard features, if not below par for the course. What makes the M1 so interesting is that it comes with the Electroneum mobile mining app and built-in cloud mining capabilities.
These two features give phone owners the ability to become part of the Electroneum network by mining ETN tokens and get paid in the process. While the mobile phone is powered on and connected to a network, the phone will mine ETN tokens, meaning you can earn crypto while you sleep – pretty cool, right? Phone owners will be able to earn up to $3 a month, meaning the phone will pay for itself in just 26 months. ETN tokens can also be converted into air time and mobile data to keep phone owners connected to the friends and family.
Samsung Joining the Crypto Market
Last week, Samsung confirmed that its new flagship device will have a Crypto Private Key Vault. While it’s not an actual crypto wallet of the ability to mine cryptos, you can store all of your private keys in one safe and secure location. There are rumors of a Samsung crypto wallet floating around, but so far those rumors appear to be just that – rumors. With a starting price tag of $899, the Galaxy S10 is certainly pricing out Electroneum’s market.
Mobile Mining isn’t New
Being rewarded for using part of your mobile device’s power or storage isn’t a new concept. Back in July 2018, Module proposed a Proof of Space, Time and Transaction (PoSTT) to allow phone owners to rent out unused space on their device. They would then be compensated for the amount of storage used up by the company – think of it like cloud storage, but on all the devices around you. While this was a really cool concept, it has yet to catch on and become mainstream.
Crypto mobile phones are far from new to the crypto world. Huawei already has its own blockchain based smartphone and Sirin Labs launched its flagship Finney back in 2018. None of these phones have really taken off – largely due to their lack of uses and huge price tags – but the M1 from Electroneum looks set to buck that trend.
