Cryptocurrency
Could ‘Sirin Labs’ (SRN) Be The ‘Apple’ Of The Blockchain Era
This week we had a discussion with a group of colleagues and affiliate researchers regarding the history and evolution of our hand-held mobile devices. You know these things we used to call smartphones and cellphones before that? That’s right! That’s a personal hand-held device. Straight to the point: we ended up arguing whether Sirin Labs (SRN) is the next big thing in technology as well as in blockchain or not. I will try to present both sides respectively while trying to be as objective as possible at the same time.
Let’s start by taking a closer look at what Sirin Labs promises with a glimpse. The company is run by Moshe Hogeg (Founder & co-CEO) and Kenges Rakishev (Chairman). I know-I know, I thought the same at first but then a look at their advisory board made things up. The list includes Steven Nerayoff (Co-Founder of Ethereum), Jeff Pulver (Father of VOIP, Monage Founder & CEO, First Investor of Twitter), Guy Ben Artzi (Co-Founder of Bancor), Takeshi Ito (CTO Of Sony Mobile), Joan Laporta (Former President of FC Barcelona).
Sirin Labs’ (SRN) vision is to become the world’s leader in secure open source consumer electronics, bridging the gap between the mass market and the blockchain economy.
“The current generation of smart devices compromises on user security. The focus is overwhelmingly on user experience, at a huge cost in fraud and cybercrime. We believe the digital economy of the future cannot tolerate this trade-off: device architecture demands a paradigm shift that enables true security while maintaining excellent user experience.”
FINNEY™ devices are the first cyber-protected, blockchain-enabled mobile phone and PC. They enjoy the functionality of Android™ OS, plus a suite of cybersecurity technologies, giving users safe, reliable access to the blockchain.
FINNEY™ devices form an independent blockchain network, a distributed ledger both scalable and lightweight, powered by IOTA’s Tangle technology and SIRIN LABS’ security ecosystem. FINNEY™ is free from centralized backbones and mining centers, capable of providing fast, fee-less and secure transactions.
FINNEY™ devices will run on Sirin Labs’ open-source operating system, SIRIN OS™. This is designed to support inherent Blockchain applications, such as a crypto wallet, secure exchange access, encrypted communications, and a P2P resource sharing ecosystem for payment and apps, supported by the SRN token.
The SRN is the FINNEY™ network’s default currency. Here are a few examples of how it can be used:
Sirin Labs will partner with consumer electronics OEMs to promote the adoption of FINNEY™ architecture, the software platform, and the SRN currency. Both hardware and software platforms will be released as open source.
Sounds really exciting so far, so which are the two ‘sides’ generated after a debate on the matter?
A. Sirin Labs previously released a mobile phone that cost around 20,000 USD per unit and it was a disaster. Their brand new FINNEY phone does whatever an android phone could do with a couple of apps downloaded, only that the FINNEY phone costs around 999 USD compared to a 350-400 USD android phone with the same specs. The aesthetic and design overall is ‘cheap’ at best and the ‘cold-storage’ wallet is a Sirin Labs creation meaning that they have full access to your digital funds at any time.
B. Brands like Ericsson or Motorolla disappeared after the introduction of colorful screens and mobile phones with photo cameras. Not because they were not good enough, but simply because they didn’t have fancy new apps brands like Sharp and Alcatel would promote in every new model. Then Sharp and Alcatel almost disappeared when the first touchscreen phones introduced into the consumers market, again not because Sharp was not good enough, but simply because iPhone was ‘cooler’ with all these new apps and abilities. Based on this historical fact, we could be certain that Sirin Labs, whether they are becoming the new Apple or not, they’re certainly carrying a brand new gen of apps and abilities that everyone will be soon demanding.
Of course, some said that you can do the same with an Android phone and a couple downloaded apps and wallets and maybe a bit of coding, but we all know it’s not the same. It’s like telling a guy with a NOKIA 3310 that he can have a camera phone, the only thing he would need is to carry an external camera with him. Sirin Labs are integrating everything the blockchain era demands into one single piece of tech and that is something undeniably ‘fresh’.
More brands could follow, compete or even beat Sirin Labs on their own field, but they will be always the first who put the idea of a next-generation phone together and that is something that will last.
What are your thoughts on the matter? Is Sirin Labs here to stay or it’s just another good-looking P&D with physical products they didn’t manage to sell in the past? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.
Reporting for The Independent Republic, Ross Peili