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takyon [soylentnews.org] writes:

HTC's blockchain-powered Exodus smartphone is a risky bet that needs to pay off [theverge.com]

In May, HTC first announced that it was working on a blockchain-powered smartphone called the Exodus. The news came as one of the company's more intriguing projects after a poor start to the year. Last year, HTC shipped over 2 million products in Q1. This year, it shipped only 630,000 products in Q1, according to numbers from IDC.

HTC is in pretty poor shape after a round of layoffs last week where the company laid off 1,500 employees [theverge.com] in Taiwan in hopes of becoming profitable. Sales in June were down 68 percent, according to the company [reuters.com]. Its latest flagship, the U12 Plus, has received largely negative reviews [theverge.com] over its odd solid-state buttons and software bugs.

It's a less than stellar time for blockchain, as well. Cryptocurrency prices are low, and last month, bitcoin was tied to price manipulation [theverge.com] in a report from researchers at the University of Texas at Austin.

Considering HTC's financial situation, there's a lot at stake with the Exodus phone. Now we have details from HTC's Phil Chen about when we can expect the phone to be released and an estimate on how much it might cost. Although Chen was vague on specifics, he told The Verge that we can expect the phone around the end of this year and we can expect a price announcement by the end of Q3. When I mentioned that the world's first blockchain-powered phone called Finney, created by Sirin Labs, costs $1000, Chen said the price of Exodus would be "comparable."

And it comes with CryptoKitties [coindesk.com]!

See also: Wikileaks breeds and sells Cryptokitties, gifts them to Trump and Clinton [steemit.com]

Previously: HTC Announces a "Blockchain-Powered" Smartphone [soylentnews.org]

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