HTC's New Exodus 1 Phone to Use Blockchain Tech, Pre-Order With Cryptocurrency

On Oct. 23 at the Web3 Summit event in Germany, HTC announced the launch of its Exodus 1 smartphone which will include the manufacturer's proprietary wallet called Zion, according to CNBC.Genesis Block.

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'HTC has reportedly been developing the phone since May 2018 with the goal of capitalizing on the growing crypto market by differentiating itself from its peers with blockchain integration.

One of the phone's key features is that its Zion wallet allows the Exodus to function as a secure hardware wallet, running features that keep security operations separate from the rest of the Android operating system.

HTC Decentralized Chief Officer Phil Chen, the head of the Exodus project, describes Trust Zone as a "Micro OS" running beside Android, providing another layer of security for hackers to contend with should the phone become infected with malware.

During setup, the phone discreetly sends bits and pieces of the seed to those contacts, and you can get that information from them to regain your data should you lose the phone.

"The reason why you do a blockchain phone is for everybody just to own their own keys. Everything starts there. When you start owning your own keys, then you can start owning your own digital identity, then you can start to own data."

The Exodus is available for pre-order now, but only in BTC or ETH. The price in cryptocurrency equates to around $960USD, and HTC will start shipping the phones in December.

Many believe this is an effort by HTC to regain some of the ground it's lost in the mobile phone market to the likes of Apple, Google, and Huawei.

Chen told CNBC that blockchain would become a major part of HTC's cell phone strategy moving forward, and reflects the company's "Increased focus on software and IP.".