The blockchain boom, mobile phone manufacturers are afraid to miss. Since entering 2018, Candy, Changhong, Lenovo, HTC have launched blockchain mobile phones.
Among them, Candy Creation Edition blockchain mobile phone, Changhong R8 Kirin mobile phone are the main mining function, Lenovo S5 main payment security, HTC Exodus is the main blockchain pet game function.
In the blockchain and mobile phone industry, blockchain mobile phones are more like a gimmick in the case that the mobile phone enterprise has not completed the establishment of the blockchain access and management authority settings, and the decentralization of the blockchain. .
Against the background of mainstream mobile phone manufacturers holding a blockbuster attitude towards blockchain mobile phones, Wang Yanhui, the founder of Mobile China Alliance, bluntly told reporters of China Business News that mobile phone companies that have left behind are avoiding competition with mainstream manufacturers in the fields of screen, camera and artificial intelligence. Choosing a niche blockchain market, this strategy of retreating may be able to win a breather for itself.
In the name of the blockchain
The Candy Creation Edition blockchain mobile phone, which is positioned as 'Mobile + Blockchain Wallet + Mining Machine', can get 'Candy Points' regularly without any extra operation. Candy says that the score is a blockchain technology. Integral system, not virtual currency. 'This is obviously hype. The trick of blockchain technology is actually its own point system.' Sun Yanxi, dean of the First Mobile Research Institute, bluntly said.
However, this does not affect the enthusiasm of mobile phone companies to embrace the blockchain.
Changhong R8 Unicorn mobile phone, which also has the main mining function, seems to be more reliable. Changhong R8 Kirin mobile phone is the first mobile phone equipped with Unicorn mobile phone platform for Unicorn. Changhong mobile phone sales staff told reporters that in 4G network Next, open the Unicorn APP in the phone, click the start button to achieve automatic mining for 8 hours per day. The phone is based on the more mainstream POW (computing power) consensus algorithm, the excavated Eucalyptus has been on July 28 Log in to the BCEX exchange.
'Youke coins are 35 million pieces per year, and they have been dug up in ten years. In just over two months, the Eucalyptus has achieved a ten-fold increase in value. 'The above sales staff continued to dig a few coins. The purchase cost of the mobile phone can be recovered within the month.
But in the face of further questioning by reporters, Changhong R8 Kirin mobile phone is based on the public chain, the alliance chain or the private chain, Changhong mobile phone sales staff said that users can not know how the network is designed. At the same time, our reporter also learned to open Unicorn APP, only knows the percentage of mining activity of the network, can't know how each token is generated, when it is generated, and who gets it.
'On the one hand, the blockchain must be clearly public, the alliance or the private chain; on the other hand, the blockchain requires open source, so that everyone in the node knows how the network works, and can see each Synchronous changes in nodes. ' A founder of the blockchain company named Deng said that the Changhong R8 Kirin mobile phone violated the decentralization of the blockchain, which is not a blockchain mobile phone.
Lenovo also told reporters that Lenovo S5 is mainly responsible for payment security, which is to ensure that payment is more secure. The Z-space payment area system uses the 'blockchain' technology from the bottom to solve payment security problems, protect users' accounts, passwords and networks. Shopping security. HTC Exodus is involved in the encryption game application store, etc., which also refers to security functions. According to Deng, the security issues solved by payment security, encryption security and blockchain technology are two concepts.
'Face recognition, digital passwords, fingerprints, etc. can now be securely paid. This is based on blockchain technology. Data can be tracked, verifiable, not tamperable, data integrity and information security are not the same thing. Cao Yu, founder of Blockchain Lab, believes that blockchain technology has the characteristics of decentralization and transparent synchronization of multiple nodes. Based on cloud and distributed ledger technology, the products of centralization of banks and online financial instruments are bound to constitute Authority, deconstruction of institutional framework.
HTC Exodus seems to be very trendy. HTC has teamed up with the pet game "Mystery Love Cat" to release an irreplaceable token game on the mobile phone. "Mystery Love Cat" claims to be the world's first blockchain technology and architecture. The game on the Ethereum platform. But HTC did not disclose the product's consensus algorithm, incentive mechanism and other further information.
However, our reporter learned that there is a general skepticism about blockchain technology in the mobile phone circle.
'The blockchain is a continuously growing database, which is based on the cloud server. The power of mobile phones, the ability of algorithms, etc. are not at the same level as the cloud servers. 'The head of a mobile phone foundry company in the Pearl River Delta is blunt. In terms of the peripheral support factors of blockchain technology, the blockchain mobile phone has a strong scent. At the same time, industry insiders introduced the universal wallet technology for cold storage of virtual currency mentioned in multiple blockchain mobile phones. It is not a new technology, and mobile phones currently have this feature.
In Cao Yu's view, blockchain technology is a combination of multiple technologies: time-series data structure, consensus algorithm operation system, smart contract rule generation and execution, and encryption algorithm point-to-point network. This technical difficulty coefficient is not Mobile phone companies can overcome.
What is the hot spot with 'return'?
In the treatment of blockchain technology, the attitude of mobile phone companies is more differentiated. The person in charge of the mobile phone foundry company in the Pearl River Delta is bluntly speaking. In the state of competition, the mobile phone manufacturers in the head are rarely involved in the block because of the risk control. Chain technology, overall holding a wait-and-see attitude.
Mobile phone manufacturers who choose to test the blockchain chain are mostly niche mobile phone manufacturers and mobile phone manufacturers that have left the main track.
Lenovo with brand advantage, HTC has long been classified as 'other' by market research companies such as Counterpoint, IDC.
Sun Yanxi believes that candy, Changhong, Lenovo, HTC launched a blockchain mobile phone, quite a bit of a taste for it.
Our reporter also noticed that because of the claim to carry blockchain technology, the price of many mobile phones has achieved multiple-level growth. Take Changhong R8 Kirin mobile phone as an example, Changhong mobile phone sales staff introduced, the price is 3980 yuan / Taiwan. If you buy 50 units at a time, the price can be discounted to 2980 yuan / Taiwan; if you buy 100 units at a time, the price can be further discounted to 2680 yuan / Taiwan. ' The person said.
The reporter found that Changhong, which started with home appliances, is basically under 1,000 yuan. The price of Candy Genesis is 3,999 yuan. The latest translation mobile phone, the price of the same full-screen high-pixel mobile phone is 2,000 yuan. up and down.
HTC officials did not disclose the latest price of Exodus, but HTC executives and external public information said that Exodus unit price is over 6,000 yuan. If this price is true, it also exceeds most of HTC's mobile phones.
Lenovo said that Lenovo S5 has three versions, the price is 999 yuan, 1199 yuan and 1499 yuan. The reporter verified that this is equivalent to the price of Lenovo's various mobile phones.
The main reason for the blockchain mobile phone price dispute in the industry is the basic configuration of blockchain mobile phones.
'Changhong R8 Kirin mobile phone is equipped with MediaTek's eight-core chip, the main screen resolution of 720P, support for NFC, etc. These levels are very general. 'I have noticed that Guo Dong, the consumer of this mobile phone, can buy OV at the same price. Huawei, Xiaomi and other mainstream brand mobile phone manufacturers of high-end machines.
However, several respondents believe that the behavior of these mobile phone manufacturers is very 'smart'. 'Despite the controversy, brand exposure has increased, prices have risen, and even through the packaging of the inventory into a blockchain mobile phone. The above-mentioned person in charge of the mobile phone foundry company of the Pearl River Delta, said that these mobile phone manufacturers who have fallen behind will try to create multiple benefits.
Changhong mobile phone sales staff is not willing to respond positively to this, but repeatedly stressed to reporters: 'We have sold three or four thousand units in two months.' He said that only Hangzhou, Shenzhen and other small cities in the country are available for sale.
Candy mobile phone users told this reporter that they only sell in the candy store, and there is no goods offline. The Lenovo S5, which is sold on all major platforms and offline channels, has a complete channel coverage. However, the reporter visited several digital sales centers in Guangzhou to learn. , Lenovo S5 sales are not optimistic.
'The main reason is that young people interested in the currency circle will come over and ask if they can mine, but after the general inquiry, they will leave. ' Wang Cheng, the owner of the Guangzhou Gangding digital communication store, said that the users of the blockchain mobile phone are relatively small. Public, interested buyers generally feel that the power of the mobile phone, computing power is difficult to dig mine coins, buyers are rare.
HTC has a high hope for blockchain mobile phones. HTC said that Exodus will officially open beta in the third quarter. Cooperation with "Mystery Love Cat", exclusive release of NFT games on the mobile phone side in the HTC chief block chain official Chen Xinsheng Come, 'only HTC is the beginning of a common blockchain asset market.' HTC also told reporters that the company and the "Mystery Love Cat" content distributor Animoca Brands, Bitmark also reached a cooperation to accelerate the HTC block The development of chain ecology.
Blockchain analyst He Xiao said frankly that in the context of blockchain institutional risks, application scenarios, and even legality, the blockchain mobile phone cannot be the main driving force for the mobile phone market.
The industry believes that behind the mobile phone block test chain technology is the increase in survival pressure. Comprehensive IDC, Counterpoint data, the global mobile phone market growth has bid farewell to high growth, global mobile phone shipments may remain low growth in the next few years Even the negative growth situation, which accounts for about 30% of the global mobile phone market in China, is even worse. The latest data from market research firm Canalys shows that the market share of the top five mobile phone manufacturers in China in the second quarter of 2018 has been increased by 2017. 73% rose to 90%.
'The mobile phone market has a significant head effect. Behind the brand's unpredictable changes, more and more Chinese small mobile phone manufacturers have closed down. 'Wang Yanhui said.