A cheaper blockchain phone is debuting in Southeast Asia, with a U.S. and European launch promised in the near future.
Huobi Group announced Tuesday the launch of its “Acute Angle” blockchain phone for $515. The Acute Angle will be powered by Huobi’s Whole Network token, NODE, also announced today. Running against competitors like Sirin Labs’ $1,000 “Finney” phone, the Huobi offering can be purchased with Huobi’s native token, HT, for half the price.
Based on Android’s operating system, Acute Angle is currently available in China with a Q4 2019 Southeast Asia launch planned. Dates for the U.S. and European launch have not yet been given.
In a statement, Huobi Global CEO Livio Weng said blockchain-based phones have a bright future:
“We think blockchain phones are a promising area for future blockchain industry development. As the industry develops and as innovations like 5G become increasingly integrated into our telecommunications systems, we believe more and more crypto communities will want to trade and transact from mobile devices.”
Acute Angle includes built-in crypto-ready features like push trade notifications, a dapp wallet, an optional cold-wallet plugin and the NODE native token.
Acute Angle users will even be airdropped NODE tokens for participating in crypto communities, the company said.
Huobi said Acute Angle is the first in a future lineup of blockchain-based phones with plans for 5G capability for future phones promised.
Huobi joins Samsung and Sirin Labs, among others, in blockchain-based phone development. Last month, Samsung added bitcoin functionality into its Samsung Developers Kit (SDK).
Huobi image via Shutterstock